1 Kings 2
2
David's Last Instructions to Solomon
1When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: 2“My time to die has come. Be confident and determined, 3and do what the LORD your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do. 4If you obey him, the LORD will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul.
5 #
2 Sam 3.27; 20.10 “There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace in revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men#2.5 Some ancient translations innocent men; Hebrew men in battle. and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I suffer#2.5 Some ancient translations I bear… and I suffer; Hebrew he bears… and he suffers. the consequences. 6You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death.
7 #
2 Sam 17.27–29
“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and take care of them, because they were kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom.
8 #
2 Sam 16.5–13; 19.16–23 “There is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he met me at the River Jordan, I gave him my solemn promise in the name of the LORD that I would not have him killed. 9But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death.”
The Death of David
10David died and was buried in David's City. 11#2 Sam 5.4–5; 1 Chr 3.4He had been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. 12#1 Chr 29.23Solomon succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power was firmly established.
The Death of Adonijah
13Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon's mother. “Is this a friendly visit?” she asked.
“It is,” he answered, 14and then he added, “I have something to ask of you.”
“What is it?” she asked.
15He answered, “You know that I should have become king and that everyone in Israel expected it. But it happened differently, and my brother became king, because it was the LORD's will. 16And now I have one request to make; please do not refuse me.”
“What is it?” Bathsheba asked.
17 #
1 Kgs 1.3–4
He answered, “Please ask King Solomon — I know he won't refuse you — to let me have Abishag, the woman from Shunem, as my wife.”
18“Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to the king to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up to greet his mother and bowed to her. Then he sat on his throne and had another one brought in on which she sat at his right. 20She said, “I have a small favour to ask of you; please do not refuse me.”
“What is it, mother?” he asked. “I will not refuse you.”
21She answered, “Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as his wife.”
22“Why do you ask me to give Abishag to him?” the king asked. “You might as well ask me to give him the throne too. After all, he is my elder brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab are on his side!”#2.22 Some ancient translations and Abiathar the priest… on his side; Hebrew unclear. 23Then Solomon made a solemn promise in the LORD's name, “May God strike me dead if I don't make Adonijah pay with his life for asking this! 24The LORD has firmly established me on the throne of my father David; he has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my descendants. I swear by the living LORD that Adonijah will die this very day!”
25So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Adonijah.
Abiathar's Banishment and Joab's Death
26 #
1 Sam 22.20–23; 2 Sam 15.24 Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to your country home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not have you put to death now, for you were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box while you were with my father David, and you shared in all his troubles.” 27#1 Sam 2.27–36Then Solomon dismissed Abiathar from serving as a priest of the LORD, and so he made what the LORD had said in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants come true.
28Joab heard what had happened. (He had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the LORD's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.#2.28 corners of the altar: See 1.50. 29When the news reached King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tent and was by the altar, Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered that he had fled to the LORD because he was afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent Benaiah#2.29 One ancient translation Solomon sent a messenger… sent Benaiah; Hebrew Solomon sent Benaiah. to kill Joab. 30He went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out.”
“No,” Joab answered. “I will die here.”
Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.
31“Do what Joab says,” Solomon answered. “Kill him and bury him. Then neither I nor any other of David's descendants will any longer be held responsible for what Joab did when he killed innocent men. 32The LORD will punish Joab for those murders, which he committed#2.32 will punish… committed; or will kill Joab, because he committed those murders. without my father David's knowledge. Joab killed two innocent men who were better men than he: Abner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, commander of the army of Judah. 33The punishment for their murders will fall on Joab and on his descendants for ever. But the LORD will always give success to David's descendants who sit on his throne.”
34So Benaiah went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the open country. 35The king made Benaiah commander of the army in Joab's place and put Zadok the priest in Abiathar's place.
The Death of Shimei
36Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and don't leave the city. 37If you ever leave and go beyond the brook of Kidron, you will certainly die — and you yourself will be to blame.”
38“Very well, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I will do what you say.” So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.
39Three years later, however, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they were in Gath, 40he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home. 41When Solomon heard what Shimei had done, 42he sent for him and said, “I made you promise in the LORD's name not to leave Jerusalem. And I warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me? 43Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command? 44You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The LORD will punish you for it. 45But he will bless me and he will make David's kingdom secure for ever.”
46Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Kings 2
2
David’s Charge to Solomon
1Ch 29:26–28
1#Ge 47:29; Dt 31:14Now it was coming close to the day of David’s death, and he gave his son Solomon a charge, saying:
2#Jos 23:14; 1:6–7“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself to be a man. 3#Dt 29:9; 17:18–20And keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways, keeping His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, 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, 4#2Sa 7:25; 1Ki 8:25that the Lord may carry out His word that He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children take heed to their way, to walk before Me in faithfulness with all their hearts and with all their souls, you shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
5#2Sa 3:27; 20:10“Moreover, you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the army of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, shedding the blood of war in a time of peace. He spilled their blood on the belt that was around his waist and on the shoes of his feet. 6#1Ki 2:9Do the right thing according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7#2Sa 9:7; 9:10“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them eat at your table, for with such loyalty they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8#2Sa 16:5–8“There is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in 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.’ 9#1Ki 2:6; Ge 42:38Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave with blood.”
10#Ac 2:29; 13:36So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
11#2Sa 5:4–5; 1Ch 29:26–27David reigned over Israel forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12#2Ch 1:1So Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
The Throne of Solomon Established
13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come in peace?”
And he said, “I come peaceably.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.”
And she said, “Speak.”
15#1Ki 1:5; 1:25He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel viewed me as the king. However, the kingdom has become my brother’s, for it was given to him by the Lord. 16And now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.”
She said to him, “Keep speaking.”
17And he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
18Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak to the king on your behalf.”
19#Ps 45:9So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her and bowed to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a seat placed at his right hand for her to sit upon.
20Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you. Please do not deny me.”
And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given as a wife to Adonijah your brother.”
22#1Ch 3:2King Solomon answered his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother. Ask not only for him, but also for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
23#Ru 1:17Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life. 24#1Ch 22:10Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and set 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.” 25#2Sa 8:18So King Solomon dispatched Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he executed him.
26#Jos 21:18; 1Sa 22:20–23The king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are worthy of 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 hardships my father endured.” 27#1Sa 2:27–36So Solomon expelled 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.
28#1Ki 1:7; 1:50Then word came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, though he did not support Absalom. And Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29#1Ki 2:25; Ex 21:14King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tabernacle of the Lord and was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go and execute him.”
30So Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come forth.’ ”
And he said, “No, I will die here.”
And Benaiah told the king all Joab said.
31#Nu 35:33; Dt 21:8–9The king said to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and my father’s house the guilt for the blood Joab shed without cause. 32#Jdg 9:24; 2Ch 21:13The Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, for he attacked two men more righteous and better than he—Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah—and killed them with the sword when my father David was unaware. 33#1Ki 2:32Therefore their blood shall return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his seed forever, but upon David and upon his seed and upon his house and upon his throne shall the peace of the Lord rest forever.”
34#Jos 15:61; 1Ki 2:25So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and attacked and killed him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35#1Ki 2:27; 4:4The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab and put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
36The king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and never leave the city. 37#2Sa 1:16; 15:23For on the day you go out and pass over the Kidron Valley, know for certain that you will surely die. Your blood shall be on your own head.”
38Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39It came about that at the end of three years, two servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maakah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Your servants are in Gath.” 40Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.
41Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42The king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warned you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and walk abroad anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?”
44#2Sa 16:5–13; 1Sa 25:39The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the wickedness in your heart and what you did to David my father. Therefore the Lord shall return your wickedness on your own head. 45#Pr 25:5But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”
46#1Ki 2:12; 2Ch 1:1So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, who went out and attacked him so that he died.
And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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