1 Kings 2
2
David’s Instructions to Solomon
1 # [Gen. 47:29] When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2#Josh. 23:14 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. #See Josh. 1:6, 7Be 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 rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, #Deut. 29:9; 1 Chr. 22:12, 13that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4that the Lord may #2 Sam. 7:25 establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, #Ps. 132:12 ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, #[ch. 3:6; 9:4; 2 Kgs. 20:3] to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, #ch. 8:25; 9:5; 2 Sam. 7:12, 13you shall not lack#2:4 Hebrew there shall not be cut off for you a man on the throne of Israel.’
5“Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah #2 Sam. 18:5, 12, 14; [2 Sam. 3:39] did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, #ver. 32; 2 Sam. 3:27 Abner the son of Ner, #2 Sam. 20:10and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging#2:5 Septuagint; Hebrew placing in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war#2:5 Septuagint innocent blood on the belt around his#2:5 Septuagint my; twice in this verse waist and on the sandals on his feet. 6Act therefore #[ver. 9]according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7But deal loyally with the sons of #See 2 Sam. 19:31-38 Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be #2 Sam. 9:7, 10 among those who eat at your table, #2 Sam. 17:27-29for with such loyalty#2:7 Or steadfast love they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8And there is also with you #2 Sam. 16:5 Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day #2 Sam. 17:24 when I went to Mahanaim. #2 Sam. 19:18But 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 do not hold him guiltless, #[ver. 6] for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall #[Gen. 42:38; 44:31]bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
The Death of David
10 # ch. 1:21; Acts 2:29; 13:36 Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in #ch. 3:1; 9:24the city of David. 11And the time that David reigned over Israel was #2 Sam. 5:4, 5; 1 Chr. 29:26, 27forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12#1 Chr. 29:23; 2 Chr. 1:1So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
Solomon’s Reign Established
13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, #1 Sam. 16:4“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” 15He said, “You know that #[ch. 1:5, 25] the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, #1 Chr. 22:9, 10; 28:5-7for it was his from the Lord. 16And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” 17And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me #ch. 1:3, 4Abishag 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, #[Ps. 45:9]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 #[See ver. 17 above]Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask #[See ver. 17 above] Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, #ch. 1:6; 1 Chr. 3:2, 5 for he is my older brother, and on his side #ch. 1:7are Abiathar#2:22 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew and for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, #See Ruth 1:17“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24Now therefore #See Ruth 3:13 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, #2 Sam. 7:11, 13; 1 Chr. 22:10as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25So King Solomon sent #2 Sam. 8:18Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.
26And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to #Josh. 21:18 Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, #1 Sam. 23:6; 2 Sam. 15:24, 29 because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, #See 1 Sam. 22:20-23and because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” 27#[ver. 35] So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling #See 1 Sam. 2:27-36the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28When the news came to Joab—for Joab #ch. 1:7 had supported Adonijah although #2 Sam. 17:25; 18:2 he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the #ch. 1:50horns 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 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, #[Ex. 21:14] “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, #Num. 35:33; Deut. 19:13; 21:8, 9and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32The Lord will #See Judg. 9:24 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 #2 Chr. 21:13 more righteous and better than himself, #ver. 5; 2 Sam. 3:27 Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and #2 Sam. 20:9, 10Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33#[See ver. 32 above]So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35#ch. 4:4 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put #1 Chr. 29:22 Zadok the priest #ver. 27in the place of Abiathar.
36Then the king sent and summoned #ver. 8Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37For on the day you go out and cross #2 Sam. 15:23 the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. #See 2 Sam. 1:16Your blood shall be on your own head.” 38And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; 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 servants ran away to #[1 Sam. 27:2]Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” 40Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41And when 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 warn 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, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” 44The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart #See 2 Sam. 16:5-14 all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will #See 1 Sam. 25:39bring back your harm on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, #[Prov. 25:5]and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.
# ver. 12; [2 Chr. 1:1] So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 2: ESV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV:
1 Kings 2
2
King David Dies
1The time came for David to die, so he gave these commands to Solomon, 2“I am about to die, like all men must. But you are growing stronger and becoming a man. 3Now, carefully obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Carefully obey all his laws, commands, decisions, and agreements. Obey everything that is written in the Law of Moses. If you do this, you will be successful at whatever you do and wherever you go. 4And if you obey the Lord, he will keep his promise about me. He said, ‘If your sons carefully live the way I tell them, sincerely, with all their heart, the king of Israel will always be a man from your family.’”
5David also said, “You remember what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me. He killed two of the commanders of Israel’s army, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. Remember, it was during a time of peace when he spilled the blood that splattered onto his sword belt and army boots. I should have punished him then. 6Use your wisdom, but don’t let him die peacefully of old age.
7“Also, be kind to the children of Barzillai from Gilead. Be friends with them, and let them eat at your table, because they helped me when I ran away from your brother Absalom.
8“And remember, Shimei son of Gera is still around. He is the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed me when I ran away to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I made a promise to him before the Lord that I would not kill him. 9Now, don’t leave him unpunished. You are a wise man. You will know what you must do, but don’t let him die peacefully of old age.”
10Then David died and was buried in the City of David. 11David ruled Israel 40 years. He ruled seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem.
Solomon and Adonijah
12Now Solomon was king. He sat on the throne of his father David and was in complete control of his kingdom.
13One day Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba. She asked him, “Do you come in peace?”
Adonijah answered, “Yes, this is a peaceful visit. 14I have something to ask you.”
Bathsheba said, “Then speak.”
15Adonijah said, “You know that at one time the kingdom was mine. All the people of Israel wanted me to be their king. But things have changed, and now my brother is the king. The Lord chose him to be king. 16But now I have one thing to ask you. Please don’t refuse me.”
Bathsheba answered, “What do you want?”
17Adonijah said, “I know that King Solomon will do whatever you ask. So please ask him to let me marry Abishag, the woman from Shunem.”
18Then Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk with him. When the king saw her, he stood up, bowed before her, and then sat back down. He told some servants to bring another throne for his mother, and she sat down at his right side.
20Bathsheba said to him, “I have one small thing to ask you. Please don’t refuse me.”
The king answered, “Ask whatever you want, mother. I will not refuse you.”
21So Bathsheba said, “Let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the woman from Shunem.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why are you asking me to give Abishag to Adonijah? Why don’t you just ask me to give him the whole kingdom! After all, he is my older brother, and both Abiathar the priest and Joab support him!”
23Then Solomon said, “By the Lord, I swear I’ll make Adonijah pay for this with his life! 24The Lord made me the king of Israel. He gave me the throne of my father David. The Lord kept his promise and gave the kingdom to me and my family. Now, as surely as the Lord lives, I swear Adonijah will die today!”
25King Solomon gave the command to Benaiah, and Benaiah went out and killed Adonijah.
26Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “I should kill you, but I will let you go back to your home in Anathoth. I will not kill you now because you helped carry the Holy Box of the Lord GOD while marching with my father David. And I know that you shared in the hard times with my father.” 27So Solomon told Abiathar that he could not continue to serve as a priest of the Lord. This happened as the Lord said it would when he told Eli the priest what would happen to him and his family.#2:27 This … family See 1 Sam. 2:27-36.
28Joab had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom. But when Joab heard what happened to Abiathar, he was frightened and ran to the tent of the Lord to hold onto the horns of the altar. 29Someone told King Solomon that Joab was at the altar in the Lord’s Tent. So Solomon ordered Benaiah to go and kill him.
30Benaiah went into the Lord’s Tent and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.”
Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said. 31The king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says! Kill him there and take him out to bury him. Then my family and I will be free of Joab’s guilt from killing innocent people. 32Joab killed two men who were much better than he was. He killed Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah. He did this without my father’s knowledge. But now the Lord will punish Joab for the men he killed. 33He and his family will always be guilty for their deaths. But the Lord will bring peace to David, his descendants, his family of kings, and his kingdom forever.”
34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada killed Joab, and he was buried near his home in the desert. 35Solomon then made Benaiah son of Jehoiada the commander of the army in Joab’s place. Solomon also made Zadok the new high priest in Abiathar’s place. 36Next, the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house here in Jerusalem to live in and don’t leave the city. 37If you leave the city and go any further than Kidron Brook, you will be killed, and it will be your own fault.”
38Shimei answered, “Yes, my king. I will obey you.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. 39But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away. They went to King Achish of Gath, who was the son of Maacah. Shimei heard that his slaves were in Gath, 40so he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish at Gath to find them. He found them there and brought them back home.
41But someone told Solomon that Shimei had left Jerusalem and gone to Gath and back. 42So Solomon 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 went anywhere, you would die. And you agreed to what I said. You said that you would obey me. 43So why didn’t you obey me? Why did you break your promise to the Lord? 44You know all the bad things you did to my father David. Now the Lord will punish you for it. 45But the Lord will bless me and keep David’s throne before him forever.”
46Then the king ordered Benaiah to kill Shimei, and he did. So Solomon had full control of his kingdom.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International