1 Kings 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. 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. 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. 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.

1 Kings 2

David’s Final Words to Solomon

1 When David was close to death,t he toldt Solomon his son:2 “I am about to die.t Be strong and become a man!3 Do the job the Lord your God has assigned yout by following his instructionst and obeyingt his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish,t

4 and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me,t ‘If your descendants watch their stept and live faithfully in my presencet with all their heart and being,t then,’ he promised,t ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’t
5 “You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether.t During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle;t when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet.t

6 Do to him what you think is appropriate,t but don’t let him live long and die a peaceful death.t

7 “Treat fairlyt the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs,t because they helped met when I had to flee from your brother Absalom.
8 “Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim,t who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim.t He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promisedt him by the Lord, ‘I will not strike you downt with the sword.’

9 But nows don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him;t make sure he has a bloody death.”t
10 Then David passed awayt and was buried in the city of David.s

11 David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalems thirty-three years.

Solomon Secures the Throne

12 Solomon sat on his father David’s throne, and his royal authorityt was firmly solidified.
13 Haggith’s son Adonijah visited Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come in peace?” He answered, “Yes.”t14 He added,t “I have something to say to you.” She replied, “Speak.”15 He said, “You know that the kingdomt was mine and all Israel considered me king.t But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his.t16 Now I’d like to ask you for just one thing. Please don’t refuse me.”t She said, “Go ahead and ask.”t17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won’t refuse you.”t

18 Bathsheba replied, “That’s fine,t I’ll speak to the king on your behalf.”
19 So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greett her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother,t and she sat at his right hand.20 She said, “I would like to ask you for just one small favor.t Please don’t refuse me.”t He said,t “Go ahead and ask, my mother, for I would not refuse you.”21 She said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite to be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.”

22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him?t Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
23 King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, “May God judge me severely,t if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life!t24 Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David’s throne, and established a dynastyt for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!”

25 King Solomon then sentt Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he killed Adonijah.t
26 The king then told Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your propertyt in Anathoth. You deserve to die,t but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times.”t

27 Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord,t fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli.t
28 When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supportedt Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), het ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.s29 When King Solomon heardt that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada,t “Go, strike him down.”30 When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But he replied, “No, I will die here!” So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab’s reply.t31 The king told him, “Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father’s familyt the guilt of Joab’s murderous, bloody deeds.t32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed;t behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than het – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.33 May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family,t and his dynasty.”t34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab;t he was buried at his home in the wilderness.

35 The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head oft the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place.s
36 Next the king summonedt Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalems and live there – but you may not leave there to go anywhere!t37 If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death.”t

38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable.t Your servant will do as you say.”t So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.t
39 Three years later two of Shimei’s servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your servants are in Gath.”40 So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath.41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned,42 the king summonedt Shimei and said to him, “You will recallt that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere,t know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’t43 Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?”t44 Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David.t The Lord will punish you for what you did.t45 But King Solomon will be empoweredt and David’s dynastyt will endure permanently before the Lord.”

46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei.t
So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom.t