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.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Kings 2
2
The Death of David
1It was almost time for David to die. So he talked to Solomon and gave him his last commands. 2David said, “My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. 3Obey everything that the Lord commands. Follow the commands he has given us. Obey all his laws, and do what he told us. Obey what is 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 promised: ‘Your descendants must live as I tell them. They must have complete faith in me. If they do this, then 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. He killed Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them as if he and they were at war. But this was in a time of peace. He killed innocent men. And their blood got on his belt and sandals. 6You should punish 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. Allow them to eat at your table. They helped me when I ran away from your brother Absalom.
8“And remember, Shimei son of Gera is here with you. He is from the people of Benjamin in Bahurim. Remember he cursed me the day I went to Mahanaim. Then 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. 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 40 years. Seven years were in Hebron, and 33 years were in Jerusalem.
Solomon Takes Control as King
12Now Solomon became king after David, his father. And he was in control of his kingdom.
13At this time Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Adonijah answered, “Yes. This is a peaceful visit. 14I have something to say to you.”
“You may speak,” she said.
15Adonijah said, “You remember that at one time the kingdom was mine. All the people of Israel thought I was their king. But things changed. Now my brother is the king because the Lord chose him. 16So now I have one thing to ask you. Please do not refuse me.”
Bathsheba answered, “What do you want?”
17Adonijah said, “I know King Solomon will do anything you ask him. So please ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite woman to be my wife.”
18“Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk to him for Adonijah. When Solomon saw her, he stood up to meet her. Then he bowed down to her 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 to him, “I have one small thing to ask you. Please do not refuse me.”
The king answered, “Ask, mother. I will not refuse you.”
21So she said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite woman to marry your brother Adonijah.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask me to give him Abishag? Why don’t you ask for him to become the king also since he is my older brother? Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah will support him!”
23Then King Solomon made a promise in the name of the Lord. He said, “I promise Adonijah will pay for asking me this! May God punish me terribly if it doesn’t cost Adonijah his life! 24The Lord has given me the throne that belonged to my father David. The Lord has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my people. As surely as the Lord lives, Adonijah will die today!” 25So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada. And he went out and killed Adonijah.
26Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “I should kill you. But I will allow you to go back to your home in Anathoth. I will not kill you now because you helped to carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord God while marching with my father David. And I know you shared in all of the hard times with my father.” 27So Solomon removed Abiathar from being a priest to the Lord. This happened as the Lord had said it would. He had said this about the priest Eli and his family in Shiloh.
28When Joab heard about this, 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.# If a person were innocent of a crime, he could run into the Holy Place. If he held on to the corners of the altar there, he would not be punished. The corners looked like horns. 29Someone told King Solomon that Joab had run to the Tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. So 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 commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says! Kill him there and bury him. Then my family and I will be free of the guilt of Joab. Joab is guilty of killing innocent people. 32He killed two men who were much better than he was. They were Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. Abner was the commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa was the commander of Judah’s army. My father David did not know that he killed them. So the Lord will pay him back for those men he killed. 33He and his family will be forever guilty for their deaths. But there will be peace from God for David, his descendants, his family and his rule 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 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. The king said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in the house, and don’t leave the city. 37If you leave and go past Kidron Valley, someone will kill you. And it will be your own fault.”
38So Shimei answered the king, “What you have said is good. I will obey you, my master and king.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves ran away. They went to Achish king of Gath. He was the son of Maacah. Shimei heard that his slaves were in Gath. 40So he put his saddle on his donkey and left. He went to Achish at Gath to find his slaves. When he found them there, he brought them back to his home.
41Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42So Solomon sent for Shimei. Solomon said, “I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you that if you went anywhere else you would die. And you agreed to what I said. You said you would obey me. 43Why did you break your promise to the Lord? Why did you not obey my command? 44You know the many wrong things you did against my father David. Now the Lord will punish you for those wrongs. 45But the Lord will bless me. He will 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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