1 Kings 2
2
David’s Advice to Solomon
(1 Chronicles 29:26–30)
1When David was about to die, he instructed his son Solomon, 2“I’m about to leave this world. Be strong and mature. 3Fulfill your duty to the Lord your God. Obey his directions, laws, commands, rules, and written instructions as they are recorded in Moses’ Teachings. Then you’ll succeed in everything you do wherever you may go. 4⌞You’ll succeed⌟ because the Lord will keep the promise he made to me: ‘If your descendants are faithful to me with all their hearts and lives, you will never fail to have an heir on the throne of Israel.’
5“You know what Joab (Zeruiah’s son) did to me and to the two commanders of Israel’s army—Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of Jether. Joab killed them. When there was peace, he shed blood as if it were wartime. With their blood he stained the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet. 6Use your wisdom. Don’t let that gray-haired, old man go to his grave peacefully.
7“Be kind to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead. Let them eat at your table. They helped me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom.
8“Shimei, son of Gera from Bahurim in Benjamin, is still with you. He cursed me repeatedly when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came to meet me at the Jordan River, I took an oath by the Lord and said, ‘As long as I’m king, I won’t have you killed.’ 9Now, don’t let him go unpunished. You are wise and know what to do to him: Put that gray-haired, old man into his grave by slaughtering him.”
10David lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11He ruled as king of Israel for 40 years. He ruled for 7 years in Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem.
Solomon Establishes His Authority
12Solomon sat on his father David’s throne, and his power was firmly established.
13Then Adonijah, son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. “Is this a friendly visit?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered. 14Then he added, “I have a matter ⌞to discuss⌟ with you.”
“What is it?” she asked.
15He said, “You know the kingship was mine. All Israel expected me to be their king. But the kingship has been turned over to my brother because the Lord gave it to him. 16Now I want to ask you for one thing. Don’t refuse me.”
“What is it?” she asked.
17He said, “Please ask King Solomon to give me Abishag from Shunem as my wife. He will not refuse you.”
18“Very well,” Bathsheba answered. “I will talk to the king for you.”
19Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to meet her and bowed down in front of her. Then he sat on his throne. He had a throne brought for his mother, and she sat at his right side.
20“I’m asking you for one little thing,” she said. “Don’t refuse me.”
“Ask, Mother,” the king told her. “I won’t refuse you.”
21She replied, “Let Abishag from Shunem be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
22King Solomon then said, “Why do you ask that Abishag from Shunem be given to Adonijah? That would be the same as giving him the kingship. After all, he is my older brother. The priest Abiathar and Joab (Zeruiah’s son) are supporting him.”
23King Solomon took an oath by the Lord and said, “May God strike me dead if Adonijah doesn’t pay with his life for this request! 24The Lord set me on my father David’s throne and gave me a dynasty as he promised. So I solemnly swear, as the Lord who has established me lives, that Adonijah will be put to death today.” 25King Solomon gave this task to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. Benaiah attacked and killed Adonijah.
26The king told the priest Abiathar, “Go to your land in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I won’t kill you at this time because you carried the ark of the Almighty Lord ahead of my father David and because you shared all my father’s sufferings.” 27So Solomon removed Abiathar as the Lord’s priest and fulfilled the Lord’s word spoken at Shiloh about Eli’s family.
28The news reached Joab. (He had supported Adonijah, although he hadn’t supported Absalom.) So Joab fled to the Lord’s tent and clung to the horns of the altar. 29After King Solomon heard that Joab had fled to the altar in the tent of the Lord, Solomon sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to kill Joab.
30When Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord, he told Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out.’ ”
“No,” Joab answered, “I’ll die here.”
So Benaiah reported to the king what Joab had said and how he had answered.
31The king answered, “Do as he said. Kill him, and bury him. You can remove the innocent blood—the blood which Joab shed—from me and my father’s family. 32The Lord will repay him for the slaughter he caused. Joab killed two honorable men who were better than he was. He used his sword to kill Abner (who was the son of Ner and the commander of Israel’s army) and Amasa (who was the son of Jether and the commander of Judah’s army). Joab did this without my father’s knowledge. 33The responsibility for their blood will fall on Joab and his descendants forever. But may David, his descendants, family, and throne always receive peace from the Lord.”
34Then Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, went and attacked Joab, killed him, and buried him at his home in the desert. 35The king then appointed Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to replace Joab as commander of the army. King Solomon also replaced Abiathar with the priest Zadok.
36The king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and stay there. Don’t leave ⌞the city⌟ to go anywhere else. 37But the day you leave and cross the brook in the Kidron Valley, you can be certain that you will die. You will be responsible for your own death.”
38“Very well,” Shimei answered. “I’ll do just what Your Majesty said.”
So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time. 39But after three years, two of Shimei’s slaves fled to Gath’s King Achish, son of Maacah. Shimei was told that his slaves were in Gath, 40so he saddled his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to search for his slaves. Shimei went to Gath and got his slaves.
41After Solomon heard that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and back, 42he summoned Shimei. Solomon asked him, “Didn’t I make you take an oath by the Lord? Didn’t I warn you that if you left ⌞the city⌟ to go anywhere, you could be certain that you would die? Didn’t you say to me, ‘Very well. I’ll do just what you said’? 43Why didn’t you keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you? 44Shimei, you know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. The Lord is going to pay you back for the evil you have done. 45But King Solomon is blessed, and David’s dynasty will always be firmly established by the Lord.”
46Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. He went to attack and kill Shimei.
Solomon’s power as king was now firmly established.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 2
2
David’s last words
1David’s time was coming to an end. So he commanded Solomon his son, 2“I’m following the path that the whole earth takes. Be strong and be a man. 3Guard what is owed to the LORD your God, walking in his ways and observing his laws, his commands, his judgments, and his testimonies, just as it is written in the Instruction from Moses. In this way you will succeed in whatever you do and wherever you go. 4So also the LORD will confirm the word he spoke to me: ‘If your children will take care to walk before me faithfully, with all their heart and all their being, then one of your own children will never fail to be on the throne of Israel.’ 5You should know what Joab, Zeruiah’s son, has done to me and what he did to the two generals of Israel, Abner, Ner’s son, and Amasa, Jether’s son. He murdered them, spilling blood at peacetime and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet. 6So act wisely: Don’t allow him to die a peaceful death. 7As for Barzillai’s sons from Gilead, show them kindness. Let them eat with you. When I was running away from your brother Absalom, they came to me. 8Now as for this Shimei, Gera’s son—a Benjaminite from Bahurim—who is with you, he cursed me viciously when I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, ‘Surely I won’t execute you with the sword.’ 9But you don’t need to excuse him. You are wise and know what to do to him. Give him a violent death.”
10Then David lay down with his ancestors and was buried in David’s City. 11He ruled over Israel forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon secures his throne
12Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his royal power was well established. 13Adonijah, Haggith’s son, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She said, “Are you coming in peace?”
He said, “Yes. 14I have something to say to you.”
She said, “Say it.”
15He said, “You know how the kingdom was mine. All Israel had appointed me as their king. Then suddenly the kingdom went to my brother as the LORD willed. 16Now I have just one request of you. Don’t refuse me!”
She said to him, “Go on.”
17Adonijah continued, “Ask King Solomon to let me marry Abishag from Shunem—he won’t refuse you.”
18Bathsheba said, “Okay; I’ll speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk with him about Adonijah. The king stood up to meet her and bowed low to her. Then he returned to his throne and had a throne set up for the queen mother. She sat to his right. 20She said, “I have just one small request for you. Don’t refuse me.”
The king said to her, “Mother, ask me. I won’t refuse you.”
21“Let Abishag from Shunem be married to your brother Adonijah,” she said.
22King Solomon replied to his mother, “Why ask only for Abishag from Shunem for Adonijah? Why not ask for the entire kingdom for him? After all, he is my older brother and has the support of Abiathar the priest and Joab, Zeruiah’s son.” 23King Solomon swore by the LORD, “May God do to me as he sees fit! Adonijah has made this request at the cost of his life! 24Now, as surely as the LORD lives—the one who supported me, put me on the throne of my father David, and provided a royal house for me exactly as he promised—Adonijah will be executed today.” 25So King Solomon sent Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son. He attacked Adonijah, and Adonijah died.
26The king said to the priest Abiathar, “Go to your fields at Anathoth, because you are a condemned man. However, I won’t kill you today because you carried the LORD’s chest in front of my father David and because you shared in all my father’s sufferings.” 27So Solomon expelled Abiathar from the LORD’s priesthood in order to fulfill the LORD’s word that was spoken against Eli’s family at Shiloh.
28Now the news reached Joab because he had supported Adonijah, though he hadn’t supported Absalom. Joab ran to the LORD’s tent and grabbed the horns of the altar. 29King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the LORD’s tent and was now beside the altar. So Solomon sent Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, instructing him, “Go. Attack Joab!”
30Benaiah came to the LORD’s tent and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
Joab said, “No! I’d rather die here.”
Benaiah sent a report back to the king: “This is what Joab said and how he answered me.”
31The king said to him, “Do as he said. Attack him and then bury him. In doing this, you will remove from me and from my father’s royal house the guilt over the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32May the LORD return that bloodguilt back on his own head for attacking the two men who were better and more righteous than he was. He murdered those two with the sword: Abner, Ner’s son and Israel’s general, and Amasa, Jether’s son and Judah’s general. But my father David didn’t know about it. 33May the bloodguilt for their deaths return on Joab’s head and on the head of his family line forever. But may the LORD’s peace be on David, his family, and his royal house forever.” 34So Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, went and attacked Joab and killed him.
Joab was buried at his home in the wilderness. 35In his place, the king gave leadership of the army to Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son. The king put the priest Zadok in Abiathar’s position. 36Then he sent for Shimei and said, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and stay in the city. Don’t leave to go anywhere else. 37If you try to leave, be advised that on the day you cross the Kidron Valley you will most certainly die. Your bloodguilt will be on your own head.”
38Shimei said to the king, “This is a good idea. Your servant will do just what my master the king said.” So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.
39After three years, two of Shimei’s servants fled to the king of Gath, Achish, Maacah’s son. Shimei was informed, “Your servants are now in Gath.” 40Shimei saddled his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to look for his servants. Shimei then brought his servants back from Gath. 41Solomon was told that Shimei had left Jerusalem for Gath and then returned.
42The king sent for Shimei and asked him, “Didn’t I make you swear a solemn pledge by the LORD? And didn’t I swear to you, ‘If you try to leave and go anywhere, be advised that on that very day you will most certainly die’? You said to me, ‘This is a good idea. I agree to it.’ 43Why didn’t you keep your solemn promise to the LORD and the command that I gave you?” 44The king said further, “You know quite well all the evil that you did to my father David. May the LORD return your evil on your own head. 45However, may King Solomon be blessed and David’s throne be secure before the LORD forever.” 46Then the king commanded Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, who went and attacked Shimei, and he died.
In these ways royal power was handed over to Solomon.
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