1 Kings 2
2
David's Instruction to Solomon
1When David's time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: 2“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, 3and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. 4Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: ‘If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’
5“Moreover you know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner son of Ner, and Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered, retaliating in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist, and on the sandals on his feet. 6Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7Deal loyally, however, with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from your brother Absalom. 8There is also with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a terrible curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9Therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you must bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
Death of David
10Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. 11The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.
Solomon Consolidates His Reign
13Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She asked, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.” 14Then he said, “May I have a word with you?” She said, “Go on.” 15He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to reign; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the Lord. 16And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Go on.” 17He said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right. 20Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother; for I will not refuse you.” 21She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.” 22King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom as well! For he is my elder brother; ask not only for him but also for the priest Abiathar and for Joab son of Zeruiah!” 23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, “So may God do to me, and more also, for Adonijah has devised this scheme at the risk of his life! 24Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of my father David, and who has made me a house as he promised, today Adonijah shall be put to death.” 25So King Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck him down, and he died.
26The king said to the priest Abiathar, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate; for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you shared in all the hardships my father endured.” 27So Solomon banished Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah though he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and grasped the horns of the altar. 29When it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord and now is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31The king replied to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him; and thus take away from me and from my father's house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but to David, and to his descendants, and to his house, and to his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34Then Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and killed him; and he was buried at his own house near the wilderness. 35The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king put the priest Zadok in the place of Abiathar.
36Then the king sent and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37For on the day you go out, and cross the Wadi Kidron, know for certain that you shall die; your blood shall be on your own head.” 38And Shimei said to the king, “The sentence is fair; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei's slaves ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When it was told Shimei, “Your slaves are in Gath,” 40Shimei arose and saddled a donkey, and went to Achish in Gath, to search for his slaves; Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, 42the king sent and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and solemnly adjure you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘The sentence is fair; I accept.’ 43Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I charged you?” 44The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the evil that you did to my father David; so the Lord will bring back your evil on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died.
So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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1 Kings 2: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 2
2
David's Instructions to Solomon
1Not long before David died, he told Solomon:
2My son, I will soon die, as everyone must. But I want you to be strong and brave. 3Do what the Lord your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go. 4You and your descendants must always faithfully obey the Lord. If you do, he will keep the solemn promise he made to me that someone from our family will always be king of Israel.
5 #
2 S 3.27;
2 S 20.10. Solomon, don't forget what Joab did to me by killing Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of Israel's army. He killed them as if they were his enemies in a war, but he did it when there was no war.#2.5 war: See 2 Samuel 3.22-27 and 20.7-10. He is guilty, and now it's up to you to punish him 6in the way you think best. Whatever you do, don't let him die peacefully in his old age.
7 #
2 S 17.27-29. The sons of Barzillai from Gilead helped me when I was running from your brother Absalom.#2.7 Absalom: See 2 Samuel 17.27-29. Be kind to them and let them eat at your table.
8 #
2 S 16.5-13; 19.16-23. Be sure to do something about Shimei son of Gera from Bahurim in the territory of Benjamin. He cursed and insulted me the day I went to Mahanaim. But later, when he came to meet me at the Jordan River, I promised that I wouldn't kill him.#2.8 him: See 2 Samuel 16.5-14 and 19.16-23. 9Now you must punish him. He's an old man, but you're wise enough to know that you must have him killed.
David Dies
10-11 #
2 S 5.4,5; 1 Ch 3.1-4. David was king of Israel 40 years. He ruled 7 years from Hebron and 33 years from Jerusalem. Then he died and was buried in Jerusalem.#2.10,11 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the city of David.” 12#1 Ch 29.23. His son Solomon became king and took control of David's kingdom.
Adonijah Is Killed
13One day, Adonijah went to see Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and she asked, “Is this a friendly visit?”
“Yes. 14I just want to talk with you.”
“All right,” she told him, “go ahead.”
15“You know that I was king for a little while,” Adonijah replied. “And everyone in Israel accepted me as their ruler. But the Lord wanted my brother to be king, so now things have changed. 16Would you do me a favor?”
“What do you want?” Bathsheba asked.
17 #
1 K 1.3,4. “Please ask Solomon to let me marry Abishag. He won't say no to you.”
18“All right,” she said. “I'll ask him.”
19When Bathsheba went to see Solomon, he stood up to meet her, then bowed low. He sat back down and had another throne brought in, so his mother could sit at his right side.#2.19 at his right side: The place of honor. 20Bathsheba sat down and then asked, “Would you do me a small favor?”
Solomon replied, “Mother, just tell me what you want, and I will do it.”
21“Allow your brother Adonijah to marry Abishag,” she answered.
22Solomon said:
What? Let my older brother marry Abishag? You may as well ask me to let him rule the kingdom! And why don't you ask such favors for Abiathar and Joab?#2.22 And why … Joab: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
23I swear in the name of the Lord that Adonijah will die because he asked for this! If he doesn't, I pray that God will severely punish me. 24The Lord made me king in my father's place and promised that the kings of Israel would come from my family. Yes, I swear by the living Lord that Adonijah will die today.
25“Benaiah,” Solomon shouted, “go kill Adonijah.” So Adonijah died.
Abiathar Is Sent Back Home
26 #
2 S 15.24;
1 S 22.20-23. Solomon sent for Abiathar the priest and said:
Abiathar, go back home to Anathoth! You ought to be killed too, but I won't do it now. When my father David was king, you were in charge of the sacred chest, and you went through a lot of hard times with my father. 27#1 S 2.27-36. But I won't let you be a priest of the Lord anymore.
And so the promise that the Lord had made at Shiloh about the family of Eli came true.#2.27 the promise … came true: See 1 Samuel 2.27-34.
Joab Is Killed
28Joab had not helped Absalom try to become king, but he had helped Adonijah. So when Joab learned that Adonijah had been killed, he ran to the sacred tent and grabbed hold of the corners of the altar for protection.#2.28 the corners … for protection: See the note at 1.50. 29When Solomon heard about this, he sent someone to ask Joab, “Why did you run to the altar?”
Joab sent back his answer, “I was afraid of you, and I ran to the Lord for protection.”#2.29 he sent someone … for protection: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
Then Solomon shouted, “Benaiah, go kill Joab!”
30Benaiah went to the sacred tent and yelled, “Joab, the king orders you to come out!”
“No!” Joab answered. “Kill me right here.”
Benaiah went back and told Solomon what Joab had said.
31-32Solomon replied:
Do what Joab said. Kill him and bury him! Then my family and I won't be responsible for what he did to Abner the commander of Israel's army and to Amasa the commander of Judah's army. He killed those innocent men without my father knowing about it. Both of them were better men than Joab. Now the Lord will make him pay for those murders. 33Joab's family will always suffer because of what he did, but the Lord will always bless David's family and his kingdom with peace.
34Benaiah went back and killed Joab. His body was taken away and buried near his home in the desert.
35Solomon put Benaiah in Joab's place as army commander, and he put Zadok in Abiathar's place as priest.
Shimei Is Killed
36Solomon sent for Shimei and said, “Build a house here in Jerusalem and live in it. But whatever you do, don't leave the city! 37If you ever cross Kidron Valley and leave Jerusalem, you will be killed. And it will be your own fault.”
38“That's fair, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I'll do that.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem from then on.
39About three years later, two of Shimei's servants ran off to King Achish in Gath. When Shimei found out where they were, 40he saddled his donkey and went after them. He found them and brought them back to Jerusalem.
41Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone to Gath and was back. 42Solomon sent for him and said:
Shimei, you promised in the name of the Lord that you would never leave Jerusalem. I warned you that you would die if you did. You agreed that this was fair, didn't you? 43You have disobeyed me and have broken the promise you made to the Lord.
44I know you remember all the cruel things you did to my father David. Now the Lord is going to punish you for what you did. 45But the Lord will bless me and make my father's kingdom strong forever.
46“Benaiah,” Solomon shouted, “kill Shimei.” So Shimei died.
Solomon was now in complete control of his kingdom.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.