1 Kings 2
2
1 WHEN DAVID'S time to die was near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man;
3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walk in His ways, keep His statutes, His commandments, His precepts, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may do wisely and prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
4 That the Lord may fulfill His promise to me, saying, If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and mind and with all their soul, there shall not fail you [to have] a man on the throne of Israel.
5 You know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered, avenging in time of peace blood shed in war, and putting innocent blood of war on the girdle on his loins and on the sandals of his feet.
6 Do therefore according to your wisdom, but let not his hoary head go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in peace.
7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table; for with such kindness they met me when I fled because of Absalom your brother. [II Sam. 17:27-29.]
8 And you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan [on my return], and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword.
9 So do not hold him guiltless; for you are a wise man and know what you should do to him. His hoary head bring down to the grave with blood.
10 So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
11 David reigned over Israel forty years–seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
12 Then Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 Adonijah, the son of [David and] Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. She said, Do you come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
14 He said, I have something to say to you. And she said, Say on.
15 He said, You know that the kingdom belonged to me [as the eldest living son], and all Israel looked to me to reign. However, the kingdom has passed from me to my brother; for it was his from the Lord.
16 Now I make one request of you; do not deny me. And she said, Say on.
17 He said, I pray you, ask King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, to give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife. [I Kings 1:1-4.]
18 And Bathsheba said, Very well; I will speak for you to the king.
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, bowed to her, sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set at his right hand for her, the king's mother.
20 Then she said, I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me. The king said to her, Ask on, my mother, for I will not refuse you.
21 She said, Give Abishag the Shunammite to Adonijah your brother to be his wife.
22 King Solomon answered his mother, And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also–for he is my elder brother–[ask it] even for him and for [his supporters] Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah.
23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not requested this against his own life.
24 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 So King Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who attacked [Adonijah] and he died.
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, Get to Anathoth to your own estate; for you deserve death, but I will not put you to death now, because you bore the ark of the Lord God before my father David and were afflicted in all my father endured.
27 So Solomon expelled Abiathar [descendant of Eli] from being priest to the Lord, fulfilling the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. [I Sam. 2:27-36.]
28 When the news came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah though he had not followed Absalom, [he] fled to the tent (tabernacle) of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar [before it].
29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was at the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, strike him down.
30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and told Joab, The king commands, Come forth. But Joab said, No, I will die here. Then Benaiah brought the king word again, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
31 The king said to him, Do as he has said. Strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from [me and from] my father's house the innocent blood which Joab shed.
32 The Lord shall return his bloody deeds upon his own head, for he fell upon two men more [uncompromisingly] righteous and honorable than he and slew them with the sword, without my father knowing of it: Abner son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
33 So shall their blood return upon the head of Joab and of his descendants forever. But upon David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord forever.
34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed Joab, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.
35 The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab's place over the army and put Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.
36 The king sent for Shimei and said to him, Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not leave there.
37 For on the day you go out and pass over the brook Kidron, know with certainty that you shall die; your blood shall be upon your own head.
38 And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39 But after three years, two of Shimei's servants ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, Behold, your [runaway] servants are in Gath.
40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to King Achish to seek his servants, and brought them from Gath.
41 It was told Solomon that Shimei went from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned.
42 And the king sent for Shimei and said to him, Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, saying, Know with certainty, on the day you go out and walk abroad anywhere, you shall surely die? And you said to me, I have heard your word. It is accepted.
43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the command with which I have charged you?
44 The king also said to Shimei, You are aware in your own heart of all the evil you did to my father David; so the Lord will return your evil upon your own head.
45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.
46 So the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who went out and struck down Shimei, and he died. And the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
1 Kings 2
2
The Death of David
1Since it was almost time for David to die, he gave his son Solomon his last commands. 2David said, “My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. 3Obey the Lord your God. Follow him by obeying his demands, his commands, his laws, and his rules that are 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 said: ‘If your descendants live as I tell them and have complete faith in me, 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: Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He did this as if he and they were at war, although it was a time of peace. He put their blood on the belt around his waist and on his sandals on his feet. 6Punish 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, and allow them to eat at your table. They welcomed me when I ran away from your brother Absalom.
8“And remember, Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite, is here with you. He cursed me the day I went to Mahanaim. But when 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, and 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 forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Solomon Takes Control as King
12Solomon became king after David, his father, and he was in firm control of his kingdom.
13At this time Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. “Do you come in peace?” Bathsheba asked.
“Yes. This is a peaceful visit,” Adonijah answered. 14“I have something to say to you.”
“You may speak,” she said.
15“You remember that at one time the kingdom was mine,” Adonijah said. “All the people of Israel recognized me as their king, but things have changed. Now my brother is the king, because the Lord chose him. 16Now I have one thing to ask you; please do not refuse me.”
Bathsheba answered, “What do you want?”
17“I know King Solomon will do anything you ask him,” Adonijah continued. “Please ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife.”
18“Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. When Solomon saw her, he stood up to meet her, then bowed down, 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, “I have one small thing to ask you. Please do not refuse me.”
“Ask, mother,” the king answered. “I will not refuse you.”
21So she said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite to marry your brother Adonijah.”
22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask me to give him Abishag? Why don’t you also ask for him to become the king since he is my older brother? Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah would support him!”
23Then King Solomon swore by the name of the Lord, saying, “May God punish me terribly if this doesn’t cost Adonijah his life! 24By the Lord who has given me the throne that belonged to my father David and who has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my people, Adonijah will die today!” 25Then King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went and killed Adonijah.
26King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “I should kill you too, but I will allow you to go back to your fields in Anathoth. I will not kill you at this time, because you helped carry the Ark of the Lord God while marching with my father David. And I know you shared in all the hard times with him.” 27Then Solomon removed Abiathar from being the Lord’s priest. This happened as the Lord had said it would, when he was speaking in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants.
28When Joab heard about what had happened, 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. 29Someone told King Solomon that Joab had run to the Tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. Then 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 ordered Benaiah, “Do as he says! Kill him there and bury him. Then my family and I will be free of the guilt of Joab, who has killed innocent people. 32Without my father knowing it, he killed two men who were much better than he was—Abner son of Ner, the commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, the commander of Judah’s army. So the Lord will pay him back for those deaths. 33Joab and his family will be forever guilty for their deaths, but there will be peace from the Lord for David, his descendants, his family, and his throne forever.”
34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada killed Joab, and he was buried near his home in the desert. 35The king then made Benaiah son of Jehoiada commander of the army in Joab’s place. He also made Zadok the new high priest in Abiathar’s place.
36Next the king sent for Shimei. Solomon said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there. Don’t leave the city. 37The very day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, someone will kill you, and it will be your own fault.”
38So Shimei answered the king, “I agree with what you say. I will do what you say, my master and king.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish king of Gath, who was the son of Maacah. Shimei heard that his slaves were in Gath, 40so he put his saddle on his donkey and went to Achish at Gath to find them. Then he brought them back from Gath.
41Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. 42So Solomon sent for Shimei and said, “I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you if you went out anywhere you would die, and you agreed to what I said. 43Why did you break your promise to the Lord and disobey my command?” 44The king also said, “You know the many wrong things you did to my father David, so now the Lord will punish you for those wrongs. 45But the Lord will bless me and 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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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.