1 Kings 2
2
1And draw near do the days of David to die, and he chargeth Solomon his son, saying,
2‘I am going in the way of all the earth, and thou hast been strong, and become a man,
3and kept the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that thou dost wisely all that thou dost, and whithersoever thou turnest,
4so that Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake unto me, saying, If thy sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, There is not cut off a man of thine from the throne of Israel.
5‘And also, thou hast known that which he did to me — Joab son of Zeruiah — that which he did to two heads of the hosts of Israel, to Abner son of Ner, and to Amasa son of Jether — that he slayeth them, and maketh the blood of war in peace, and putteth the blood of war in his girdle, that [is] on his loins, and in his sandals that [are] on his feet;
6and thou hast done according to thy wisdom, and dost not let his old age go down in peace to Sheol.
7‘And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother.
8‘And lo, with thee [is] Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, and he reviled me — a grievous reviling — in the day of my going to Mahanaim; and he hath come down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swear to him by Jehovah, saying, I do not put thee to death by the sword;
9and now, acquit him not, for a wise man thou [art], and thou hast known that which thou dost to him, and hast brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.’
10And David lieth down with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David,
11and the days that David hath reigned over Israel [are] forty years, in Hebron he hath reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he hath reigned thirty and three years.
12And Solomon hath sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom is established greatly,
13and Adonijah son of Haggith cometh in unto Bath-Sheba, mother of Solomon, and she saith, ‘Is thy coming peace?’ and he saith, ‘Peace.’
14And he saith, ‘I have a word unto thee,’ and she saith, ‘Speak.’
15And he saith, ‘Thou hast known that the kingdom was mine, and towards me set their faces had all Israel for reigning, and the kingdom is turned round about, and is my brother's, for from Jehovah it was his;
16and now, one petition I am asking of thee — turn not back my face;’ and she saith unto him, ‘Speak.’
17And he saith, ‘Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, for he doth not turn back thy face, and he doth give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.’
18And Bath-Sheba saith, ‘Good; I do speak for thee unto the king.’
19And Bath-Sheba cometh in unto king Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king riseth to meet her, and boweth himself to her, and sitteth on his throne, and placeth a throne for the mother of the king, and she sitteth at his right hand.
20And she saith, ‘One small petition I ask of thee, turn not back my face;’ and the king saith to her, ‘Ask, my mother, for I do not turn back thy face.’
21And she saith, ‘Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife.’
22And king Solomon answereth and saith to his mother, ‘And why art thou asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? also ask for him the kingdom — for he [is] mine elder brother — even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.’
23And king Solomon sweareth by Jehovah, saying, ‘Thus doth God to me, and thus He doth add — surely against his soul hath Adonijah spoken this word;
24and now, Jehovah liveth, who hath established me, and causeth me to sit on the throne of David my father, and who hath made for me an house as He spake — surely to-day is Adonijah put to death.’
25And king Solomon sendeth by the hand of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he falleth upon him, and he dieth.
26And to Abiathar the priest said the king, ‘To Anathoth go, unto thy fields; for a man of death thou [art], but in this day I do not put thee to death, because thou hast borne the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all that my father was afflicted in.’
27And Solomon casteth out Abiathar from being priest to Jehovah, to fulfil the word of Jehovah which He spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28And the report hath come unto Joab — for Joab hath turned aside after Adonijah, though after Absalom he did not turn aside — and Joab fleeth unto the tent of Jehovah, and layeth hold on the horns of the altar.
29And it is declared to king Solomon that Joab hath fled unto the tent of Jehovah, and lo, near the altar; and Solomon sendeth Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, ‘Go, fall upon him.’
30And Benaiah cometh in unto the tent of Jehovah, and saith unto him, ‘Thus said the king, Come out;’ and he saith, ‘Nay, but here I die.’ And Benaiah bringeth back the king word, saying, ‘Thus spake Joab, yea, thus he answered me.’
31And the king saith to him, ‘Do as he hath spoken, and fall upon him, and thou hast buried him, and turned aside the causeless blood which Joab shed, from off me, and from off the house of my father;
32and Jehovah hath turned back his blood on his own head, who hath fallen on two men more righteous and better than he, and slayeth them with the sword, — and my father David knew not — Abner son of Ner, head of the host of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, head of the host of Judah;
33yea, turned back hath their blood on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed to the age; and for David, and for his seed, and for his house, and for his throne, there is peace unto the age, from Jehovah.’
34And Benaiah son of Jehoiada goeth up and falleth upon him, and putteth him to death, and he is buried in his own house in the wilderness,
35and the king putteth Benaiah son of Jehoiada in his stead over the host, and Zadok the priest hath the king put in the stead of Abiathar.
36And the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith to him, ‘Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and thou hast dwelt there, and dost not go out thence any where;
37and it hath been, in the day of thy going out, and thou hast passed over the brook Kidron, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die — thy blood is on thy head.’
38And Shimei saith to the king, ‘The word [is] good; as my lord the king hath spoken so doth thy servant do;’ and Shimei dwelleth in Jerusalem many days.
39And it cometh to pass, at the end of three years, that flee do two of the servants of Shimei unto Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath, and they declare to Shimei, saying, ‘Lo, thy servants [are] in Gath;’
40and Shimei riseth, and saddleth his ass, and goeth to Gath, unto Achish, to seek his servants, and Shimei goeth and bringeth his servants from Gath.
41And it is declared to Solomon that Shimei hath gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and doth return,
42and the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith unto him, ‘Have I not caused thee to swear by Jehovah — and I testify against thee, saying, In the day of thy going out, and thou hast gone anywhere, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die; and thou sayest unto me, The word I have heard [is] good?
43and wherefore hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the charge that I charged upon thee?’
44And the king saith unto Shimei, ‘Thou hast known all the evil that thy heart hath known, which thou didst to David my father, and Jehovah hath turned back thine evil on thy head,
45and king Solomon [is] blessed, and the throne of David is established before Jehovah unto the age.’
46And the king chargeth Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he goeth out and falleth on him, and he dieth, and the kingdom is established in the hand of Solomon.
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1 Kings 2: YLT98
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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.
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