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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 2
2
David’s Dying Instructions to Solomon
1As the time approached for David to die,#Gn 47:29; Nm 27:13 he ordered his son Solomon, 2“As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth.#Jos 23:14 Be strong and be a man,#Jos 1:6–7,9; 1Sm 4:9 3and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do#Dt 29:9; 1Ch 22:12–13 and wherever you turn, 4and so that the Lord will fulfill his promise that he made to me: ‘If your sons take care to walk faithfully before me with all their heart and all their soul,#Dt 6:5; Mt 22:37 you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’#2Sm 7:12–13; 1Kg 8:25; 9:5
5“You also know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me#2Sm 18:5,12,14 and what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s army, Abner son of Ner#2Sm 3:27 and Amasa son of Jether.#2Sm 20:10 He murdered them in a time of peace to avenge blood shed in war. He spilled that blood on his own waistband and on the sandals of his feet.#2:5 LXX, Old Lat read on my waistband and... my feet; v. 31 6Act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head descend to Sheol in peace.
7“Show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table#2Sm 9:7; 19:28 because they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.#2Sm 19:31–39
8“Keep an eye on Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim who is with you. He uttered malicious curses against me the day I went to Mahanaim.#2Sm 16:5–13 But he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, and I swore to him by the Lord, ‘I will never kill you with the sword.’#2Sm 19:16–23 9So don’t let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.”
10Then David rested with his ancestors#Ac 2:29; 13:36 and was buried in the city of David.#2Sm 5:7 11The length of time David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.#2Sm 5:4–5; 1Ch 29:27 12Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingship was firmly established.#1Kg 2:46; 1Ch 17:14
Adonijah’s Foolish Request
13Now Adonijah son of Haggith#1Kg 1:5,51–53 came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come peacefully?”
“Peacefully,” he replied,#1Sm 16:4–5 14and then asked, “May I talk with you?” #2:14 Lit then said, “I have a word for you.”
“Go ahead,” she answered.
15“You know the kingship was mine,”#1Kg 1:11 he said. “All Israel expected me to be king, but then the kingship was turned over to my brother,#1Kg 1:38–46 for the Lord gave it to him.#1Ch 23:9–10; 28:5,7; Dn 2:21; 4:17; Jn 19:11; Rm 13:1 16So now I have just one request of you; don’t turn me down.”#2:16 Lit don’t make me turn my face
She said to him, “Go on.”
17He replied, “Please speak to King Solomon since he won’t turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite#1Kg 1:3–4,15 as a wife.”
18“Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, sat down on his throne, and had a throne placed for the king’s mother.#2Sm 15:16; 1Kg 15:13 So she sat down at his right hand.#Ps 110:1; Mt 20:21
20Then she said, “I have just one small request of you. Don’t turn me down.”
“Go ahead and ask, mother,” the king replied, “for I won’t turn you down.”
21So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my elder brother,#1Kg 1:6; 1Ch 3:2,5 you might as well ask the kingship for him,#2Sm 16:20–22 for the priest Abiathar, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.”#2:22 LXX, Vg, Syr read kingship for him, and on his side are Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah#1Kg 1:7 23Then King Solomon took an oath by the Lord: “May God punish me and do so severely#Ru 1:17; 1Sm 3:17 if Adonijah has not made this request at the cost of his life. 24And now, as the Lord lives — the one who established me, seated me on the throne of my father David, and made me a dynasty as he promised#2Sm 7:11–13 — I swear Adonijah will be put to death today!” 25Then King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada,#1Kg 1:8,26,38 who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
Abiathar’s Banishment
26The king said to the priest Abiathar,#1Kg 1:7,19 “Go to your fields in Anathoth.#Jos 21:18; Jr 1:1 Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death today, since you carried the ark of the Lord God in the presence of my father David#2Sm 15:24–25,29 and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”#1Sm 22:20–23; 2Sm 19:11 27So Solomon banished Abiathar from being the Lord’s priest, and it fulfilled the Lord’s prophecy he had spoken at Shiloh against Eli’s family.#1Sm 2:31–35
Joab’s Execution
28The news reached Joab. Since he had supported Adonijah#1Kg 1:7 but not Absalom,#2Sm 18:1–5 Joab fled to the Lord’s tabernacle and took hold of the horns of the altar.#Ex 21:12–14; 1Kg 1:50
29It was reported to King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the Lord’s tabernacle and is now beside the altar.”
Then Solomon sent#2:29 LXX adds Joab a message: “What is the matter with you, that you have fled to the altar?” And Joab replied, “Because I feared you, I have fled to the Lord.” And Solomon the king sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada#1Kg 1:8 and told him, “Go and strike him down!” #Ex 12:12,14; 2Sm 3:27; 18:14; 20:10
30So Benaiah went to the tabernacle and said to Joab, “This is what the king says: ‘Come out!’” #Ex 21:14
But Joab said, “No, for I will die here.”
So Benaiah took a message back to the king, “This is what Joab said, and this is how he answered me.”
31The king said to him, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him in order to remove from me and from my father’s family the blood that Joab shed without just cause.#Nm 35:33; Dt 21:8–9 32The Lord will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David’s knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abner#2Sm 3:26–27 son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa#2Sm 20:8–10 son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 33The responsibility for their deaths will come back to Joab and to his descendants#2:33 Lit Their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his seed forever, but for David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne, there will be peace from the Lord forever.”#2Sm 3:28–29
34Benaiah son of Jehoiada#2Kg 2:25 went up, struck down Joab, and put him to death. He was buried at his house in the wilderness.#2Sm 2:32 35Then the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army,#1Kg 4:4 and he appointed the priest Zadok in Abiathar’s place.
Shimei’s Banishment and Execution
36Then the king summoned Shimei#2Sm 16:5–13; 1Kg 2:8–9 and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but don’t leave there and go anywhere else. 37On the day you do leave and cross the Kidron Valley,#Jn 18:1 know for sure that you will certainly die. Your blood will be on your own head.”#Gn 2:17; 2Sm 1:16
38Shimei said to the king, “The sentence is fair; your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39But then, at the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish#1Sm 27:2 son of Maacah, king of Gath.#Jos 13:3; 1Sm 6:16–17; 21:10 Shimei was informed, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.” 40So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath to search for his slaves. He went and brought them back from Gath.
41It was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42So the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Didn’t I make you swear by the Lord and warn you, saying, ‘On the day you leave and go anywhere else, know for sure that you will certainly die’? And you said to me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will obey.’ 43So why have you not kept the Lord’s oath and the command that I gave you?” 44The king also said, “You yourself know all the evil that you did to my father David.#1Kg 2:8–9 Therefore, the Lord has brought back your evil on your head, 45but King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain established before the Lord forever.”#2Sm 7:13
46Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in Solomon’s hand.#1Kg 2:12; 2Ch 1:1
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