1 Kings 2
2
1When David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 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, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4that the Lord may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons 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 man on the throne of Israel.’
5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he murdered, avenging#2.5 Gk: Heb placing in time of peace blood which had been shed in war, and putting innocent blood#2.5 Gk: Heb blood of war upon the girdle about my#2.5 Gk: Heb his loins, and upon the sandals on my#2.5 Gk: Heb his feet. 6Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7But deal loyally 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 Absalom your brother. 8And there is also with you Shime-i the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous 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, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
10Then David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12#1 Chron 29.23. So Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was firmly established.
13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Say on.” 15He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully 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, “Say on.” 17And he said, “Pray ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a seat 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 Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother, and on his side are Abiathar#2.22 Gk Syr Vg: Heb and for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me, and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.” 25So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
26And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate; for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because you shared in all the affliction of my father.” 27So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the 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 forth.’ ” 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 which Joab shed without cause. 32The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds upon his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and slew with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33So shall their blood come back upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants for ever; but to David, and to his descendants, and to his house, and to his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord for evermore.” 34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and struck him down and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
36Then the king sent and summoned Shime-i, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and do not go forth from there to any place whatever. 37For on the day you go forth, and cross the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die; your blood shall be upon your own head.” 38And Shime-i said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shime-i dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shime-i's slaves ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shime-i, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath,” 40Shime-i arose and saddled an ass, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his slaves; Shime-i went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41And when Solomon was told that Shime-i had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, 42the king sent and summoned Shime-i, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and solemnly admonish you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go forth and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I obey.’ 43Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I charged you?” 44The king also said to Shime-i, “You know in your own heart all the evil that you did to David my father; so the Lord will bring back your evil upon your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever.” 46Then the king commanded Benaiah the 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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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
1 Kings 2
2
The Death of David
1Since it was almost time for David to die, he gave his son Solomon his last commands. 2David said, “My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. 3Obey the Lord your God. Follow him by obeying his demands, his commands, his laws, and his rules that are written in the teachings of Moses. If you do these things, you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4And if you obey the Lord, he will keep the promise he made to me. He said: ‘If your descendants live as I tell them and have complete faith in me, a man from your family will always be king over the people of Israel.’
5“Also, you remember what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me. He killed the two commanders of Israel’s armies: Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He did this as if he and they were at war, although it was a time of peace. He put their blood on the belt around his waist and on his sandals on his feet. 6Punish him in the way you think is wisest, but do not let him die peacefully of old age.
7“Be kind to the children of Barzillai of Gilead, and allow them to eat at your table. They welcomed me when I ran away from your brother Absalom.
8“And remember, Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite, is here with you. He cursed me the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I promised him before the Lord, ‘Shimei, I will not kill you.’ 9But you should not leave him unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what to do to him, but you must be sure he is killed.”
10Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. 11He had ruled over Israel forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon Takes Control as King
12Solomon became king after David, his father, and he was in firm control of his kingdom.
13At this time Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. “Do you come in peace?” Bathsheba asked.
“Yes. This is a peaceful visit,” Adonijah answered. 14“I have something to say to you.”
“You may speak,” she said.
15“You remember that at one time the kingdom was mine,” Adonijah said. “All the people of Israel recognized me as their king, but things have changed. Now my brother is the king, because the Lord chose him. 16Now I have one thing to ask you; please do not refuse me.”
Bathsheba answered, “What do you want?”
17“I know King Solomon will do anything you ask him,” Adonijah continued. “Please ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife.”
18“Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. When Solomon saw her, he stood up to meet her, then bowed down, and sat on the throne. He told some servants to bring another throne for his mother. Then she sat down at his right side.
20Bathsheba said, “I have one small thing to ask you. Please do not refuse me.”
“Ask, mother,” the king answered. “I will not refuse you.”
21So she said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite to marry your brother Adonijah.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask me to give him Abishag? Why don’t you also ask for him to become the king since he is my older brother? Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah would support him!”
23Then King Solomon swore by the name of the Lord, saying, “May God punish me terribly if this doesn’t cost Adonijah his life! 24By the Lord who has given me the throne that belonged to my father David and who has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my people, Adonijah will die today!” 25Then King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went and killed Adonijah.
26King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “I should kill you too, but I will allow you to go back to your fields in Anathoth. I will not kill you at this time, because you helped carry the Ark of the Lord God while marching with my father David. And I know you shared in all the hard times with him.” 27Then Solomon removed Abiathar from being the Lord’s priest. This happened as the Lord had said it would, when he was speaking in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants.
28When Joab heard about what had happened, he was afraid. He had supported Adonijah but not Absalom. So Joab ran to the Tent of the Lord and took hold of the corners of the altar. 29Someone told King Solomon that Joab had run to the Tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah to go and kill him.
30Benaiah went into the Tent of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’ ”
But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.”
So Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said. 31Then the king ordered Benaiah, “Do as he says! Kill him there and bury him. Then my family and I will be free of the guilt of Joab, who has killed innocent people. 32Without my father knowing it, he killed two men who were much better than he was—Abner son of Ner, the commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, the commander of Judah’s army. So the Lord will pay him back for those deaths. 33Joab and his family will be forever guilty for their deaths, but there will be peace from the Lord for David, his descendants, his family, and his throne forever.”
34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada killed Joab, and he was buried near his home in the desert. 35The king then made Benaiah son of Jehoiada commander of the army in Joab’s place. He also made Zadok the new high priest in Abiathar’s place.
36Next the king sent for Shimei. Solomon said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there. Don’t leave the city. 37The very day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, someone will kill you, and it will be your own fault.”
38So Shimei answered the king, “I agree with what you say. I will do what you say, my master and king.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish king of Gath, who was the son of Maacah. Shimei heard that his slaves were in Gath, 40so he put his saddle on his donkey and went to Achish at Gath to find them. Then he brought them back from Gath.
41Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42So Solomon sent for Shimei and said, “I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you if you went out anywhere you would die, and you agreed to what I said. 43Why did you break your promise to the Lord and disobey my command?” 44The king also said, “You know the many wrong things you did to my father David, so now the Lord will punish you for those wrongs. 45But the Lord will bless me and make the rule of David safe before the Lord forever.”
46Then the king ordered Benaiah to kill Shimei, and he did. Now Solomon was in full control of his kingdom.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.