1 Kings 2

1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,2 I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;3 and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.4 That Jehovah may establish his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.7 But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom thy brother.8 And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the 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, and I sware to him by Jehovah, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

10 And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.12 And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s; for it was his from Jehovah.16 And now I ask one petition of thee; deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not say thee nay), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.18 And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

19 Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.20 Then she said, I ask one small petition of thee; deny me not. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny thee.21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.22 And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.23 Then king Solomon sware by Jehovah, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life.24 Now therefore as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.25 And king Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him, so that he died.

26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto Jehovah, that he might fulfil the word of Jehovah, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28 And the tidings came to Joab; for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the Tent of Jehovah, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.29 And it was told king Solomon, Joab is fled unto the Tent of Jehovah, and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.30 And Benaiah came to the Tent of Jehovah, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house.32 And Jehovah will return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, and my father David knew it not, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.33 So shall their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but unto David, and unto his seed, and unto his house, and unto his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah.34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host; and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

36 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.37 For on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, know thou for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants are in Gath.40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not adjure thee by Jehovah, and protest unto thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The saying that I have heard is good.43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore Jehovah shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head.45 But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah for ever.46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell upon him, so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand 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