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
Melaḵim Aleph (1 Kings) 2
2
1And the days of Dawiḏ drew near to die, and he commanded Shelomoh his son, saying,
2“I am going the way of all the earth. And you shall be strong, and be a man.
3“And guard the Charge of יהוה your Elohim: to walk in His ways, to guard His laws, His commands, His right-rulings, and His witnesses, as it is written in the Torah of Mosheh, so that you do wisely all that you do and wherever you turn;
4so that יהוה does establish His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons guard their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their being,’ saying, ‘there is not to cease a man of yours on the throne of Yisra’ĕl.’
5“And also, you know what Yo’aḇ son of Tseruyah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Yisra’ĕl, to Aḇnĕr son of Nĕr and Amasa son of Yether, that he killed them, and shed the blood of battle in peace, and put the blood of battle on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.
6“So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his grey hair go down to She’ol in peace.
7“But show loving-commitment to the sons of Barzillai the Gil‛aḏite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Aḇshalom your brother.
8“And see, with you is Shim‛i son of Gĕra, the Binyamite from Baḥurim, who cursed me with a grievous cursing in the day when I went to Maḥanayim. But he came down to meet me at the Yardĕn, and I swore to him by יהוה, saying, ‘I shall not put you to death with the sword.’
9“And now, do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man and know what you should do to him, and shall bring his grey hair down to She’ol with blood.”
10And Dawiḏ slept with his fathers, and was buried in the City of Dawiḏ.
11And the days that Dawiḏ reigned over Yisra’ĕl was forty years. He reigned seven years in Ḥeḇron, and in Yerushalayim he reigned thirty-three years.
12And Shelomoh sat on the throne of his father Dawiḏ. And his reign was firmly established.
13And Aḏoniyahu son of Ḥaggith came to Bathsheḇa the mother of Shelomoh, and she said, “Do you come in peace?” And he said, “Peace.”
14And he said, “I have a word for you,” and she said, “Speak.”
15And he said, “You know that the reign was mine, and all Yisra’ĕl had set their faces toward me, that I should reign. But the reign has been turned around, and has become my brother’s, for it was his from יהוה.
16“And now, I am making one request of you, do not refuse me.” And she said to him, “Say it.”
17And he said, “Please speak to Sovereign Shelomoh – for he would not refuse you – to give me Aḇishaḡ the Shunammite as wife.”
18And Bathsheḇa said, “Good, let me speak for you to the sovereign.”
19And Bathsheḇa came to Sovereign Shelomoh, to speak to him for Aḏoniyahu. And the sovereign rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the sovereign’s mother. So she sat at his right hand.
20And she said, “I am making one small request of you, do not refuse me.” And the sovereign said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I do not refuse you.”
21Then she said, “Let Aḇishaḡ the Shunammite be given to Aḏoniyahu your brother as wife.”
22And Sovereign Shelomoh answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Aḇishaḡ the Shunammite for Aḏoniyahu? Ask for him the reign also – for he is my older brother – for him, and for Eḇyathar the priest, and for Yo’aḇ son of Tseruyah.”
23And Sovereign Shelomoh swore by יהוה, saying, “Elohim does so to me, and more also, if Aḏoniyahu has not spoken this word against his own life!
24“And now, as יהוה lives, who established me and set me on the throne of Dawiḏ my father, and who has made me a house, as He promised, Aḏoniyahu shall be put to death today!”
25And Sovereign Shelomoh sent by the hand of Benayahu son of Yehoyaḏa, and he fell upon him, and he died.
26Then the sovereign said to Eḇyathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you deserve death. But I do not put you to death at this time, because you did bear the ark of the Master יהוה before my father Dawiḏ, and because you were afflicted in all my father was afflicted in.”
27So Shelomoh dismissed Eḇyathar from being priest to יהוה, to fill the word of יהוה which He spoke concerning the house of Ěli at Shiloh.
28And news came to Yo’aḇ, for Yo’aḇ had turned aside after Aḏoniyah, though he did not turn aside after Aḇshalom. And Yo’aḇ fled to the Tent of יהוה, and took hold of the horns of the slaughter-place.
29And the report came to Sovereign Shelomoh that Yo’aḇ had fled to the Tent of יהוה, and see, he is by the slaughter-place. Then Shelomoh sent Benayahu son of Yehoyaḏa, saying, “Go, fall on him.”
30So Benayahu came to the Tent of יהוה and said to him, “Thus said the sovereign, ‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, for here I die.” And Benayahu brought back word to the sovereign, saying, “Thus said Yo’aḇ, and thus he answered me.”
31And the sovereign said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall upon him. And you shall bury him, so that you take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Yo’aḇ shed without cause.
32“Thus יהוה shall return his blood on his head, because he had fallen on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, while my father Dawiḏ did not know it: Aḇnĕr son of Nĕr, commander of the army of Yisra’ĕl, and Amasa son of Yether, commander of the army of Yehuḏah.
33“So shall their blood return upon the head of Yo’aḇ and upon the head of his seed forever. But upon Dawiḏ and his seed, upon his house and his throne, there is to be peace forever from יהוה.”
34Then Benayahu son of Yehoyaḏa went up and fell upon him and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35And the sovereign put Benayahu son of Yehoyaḏa in his place over the army, and the sovereign put Tsaḏoq the priest in the place of Eḇyathar.
36And the sovereign sent and called for Shim‛i, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Yerushalayim and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere.
37“And it shall be, on the day you go out and pass over the wadi Qiḏron, know for certain that you shall die – your blood is on your own head.”
38And Shim‛i said to the sovereign, “The word is good. As my master the sovereign has said, so your servant does.” So Shim‛i dwelt in Yerushalayim many days.
39And it came to be at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shim‛i fled to Aḵish son of Ma‛aḵah, sovereign of Gath. And they informed Shim‛i, saying, “See, your slaves are in Gath!”
40And Shim‛i rose up, and saddled his donkey, and went to Aḵish at Gath to look for his slaves. And Shim‛i went and brought his slaves from Gath.
41And Shelomoh was told that Shim‛i had gone from Yerushalayim to Gath and had come back.
42So the sovereign sent and called for Shim‛i, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by יהוה, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you leave to go anywhere, you shall certainly die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’
43“And why have you not guarded the oath of יהוה and the command that I gave you?”
44The sovereign also said to Shim‛i, “You shall know all the evil that your heart has known, that you did to my father Dawiḏ. And יהוה shall return your evil on your own head.
45“But Sovereign Shelomoh is blessed, and the throne of Dawiḏ is established before יהוה forever.”
46So the sovereign commanded Benayahu son of Yehoyaḏa, and he went out and fell on him, and he died. And the reign was established in the hand of Shelomoh.
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