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1 Kings 2
New American Standard Bible 1995

David’s Charge to Solomon

2 As David’s [a](A)time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “(B)I am going the way of all the earth. (C)Be strong, therefore, and [b]show yourself a man. 3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, (D)according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that (E)you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 so that (F)the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘(G)If your sons are careful of their way, (H)to walk before Me in [c]truth with all their heart and with all their soul, [d](I)you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Now you also know what Joab the (J)son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to (K)Abner the son of Ner, and to (L)Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also [e]shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt [f]about his waist, and on his sandals [g]on his feet. 6 (M)So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to [h]Sheol in peace. 7 But (N)show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and (O)let them be among those who eat at your table; (P)for they [i]assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 Behold, (Q)there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a [j]violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when (R)he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, (S)for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to [k]Sheol with blood.”

Death of David

10 Then (T)David slept with his fathers and was buried in (U)the city of David. 11 (V)The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: (W)seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 12 And (X)Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “(Y)Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15 So he said, “You know that (Z)the kingdom was mine and (AA)that all Israel [l]expected me to be king; (AB)however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, (AC)for it was his from the Lord. 16 Now I am making one request of you; do not [m]refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17 Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not [n]refuse you, that he may give me (AD)Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

Adonijah Executed

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he (AE)had a throne set for the king’s mother, and (AF)she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; (AG)do not [o]refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not [p]refuse you.” 21 So she said, “(AH)Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? (AI)Ask for him also the kingdom—(AJ)for he is my older brother—even for him, for (AK)Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has (AL)not spoken this word against his own [q]life. 24 Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and (AM)who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon (AN)sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “(AO)Go to Anathoth to your own field, (AP)for you [r]deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because (AQ)you carried the ark of the Lord [s]God before my father David, and because (AR)you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill (AS)the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Executed

28 Now the news came to Joab, (AT)for Joab had followed Adonijah, (AU)although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and (AV)took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon (AW)sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “(AX)Go, fall upon him.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king said to him, “(AY)Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, (AZ)that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 32 (BA)The Lord will return his blood on his own head, (BB)because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: (BC)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and (BD)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 (BE)So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his [t]descendants forever; but to David and his [u]descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34 Then (BF)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house (BG)in the wilderness. 35 (BH)The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed (BI)Zadok the priest (BJ)in the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

36 Now the king sent and called for (BK)Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37 For on the day you go out and (BL)cross over the [v]brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; (BM)your blood shall be on your own head.” 38 Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away (BN)to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” 40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I [w]have laid on you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “(BO)You know all the evil which [x]you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore (BP)the Lord shall return your evil on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and (BQ)the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46 (BR)So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

(BS)Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 2:1 Lit days
  2. 1 Kings 2:2 Lit become a man
  3. 1 Kings 2:4 Or faithfulness
  4. 1 Kings 2:4 Lit there shall not be cast off to you a man from before Me
  5. 1 Kings 2:5 Lit made
  6. 1 Kings 2:5 Lit that was about
  7. 1 Kings 2:5 Lit that were on
  8. 1 Kings 2:6 I.e. the nether world
  9. 1 Kings 2:7 Lit came near to
  10. 1 Kings 2:8 Or grievous
  11. 1 Kings 2:9 I.e. the nether world
  12. 1 Kings 2:15 Lit set their faces on me
  13. 1 Kings 2:16 Lit turn away my face
  14. 1 Kings 2:17 Lit turn away your face
  15. 1 Kings 2:20 Lit turn away my face
  16. 1 Kings 2:20 Lit turn away your face
  17. 1 Kings 2:23 Lit soul
  18. 1 Kings 2:26 Lit are a man of death
  19. 1 Kings 2:26 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  20. 1 Kings 2:33 Lit seed
  21. 1 Kings 2:33 Lit seed
  22. 1 Kings 2:37 Or wadi
  23. 1 Kings 2:43 Lit commanded
  24. 1 Kings 2:44 Lit your heart acknowledges
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1 Kings 2
New International Version

David’s Charge to Solomon(A)

2 When the time drew near for David to die,(B) he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,”(C) he said. “So be strong,(D) act like a man, 3 and observe(E) what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper(F) in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise(G) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully(H) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Now you yourself know what Joab(I) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner(J) son of Ner and Amasa(K) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom,(L) but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

7 “But show kindness(M) to the sons of Barzillai(N) of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table.(O) They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

8 “And remember, you have with you Shimei(P) son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim.(Q) When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore(R) to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom;(S) you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”

10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried(T) in the City of David.(U) 11 He had reigned(V) forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne(W) of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.(X)

Solomon’s Throne Established

13 Now Adonijah,(Y) the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?”(Z)

He answered, “Yes, peacefully.” 14 Then he added, “I have something to say to you.”

“You may say it,” she replied.

15 “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord. 16 Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.”

“You may make it,” she said.

17 So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag(AA) the Shunammite as my wife.”

18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”

19 When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother,(AB) and she sat down at his right hand.(AC)

20 “I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.”

The king replied, “Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.”

21 So she said, “Let Abishag(AD) the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.”

22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag(AE) the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother(AF)—yes, for him and for Abiathar(AG) the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”

23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,(AH) if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! 24 And now, as surely as the Lord lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised(AI)—Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah(AJ) son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.(AK)

26 To Abiathar(AL) the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth.(AM) You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark(AN) of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.”(AO) 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling(AP) the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns(AQ) of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar.(AR) Then Solomon ordered Benaiah(AS) son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”

30 So Benaiah entered the tent(AT) of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!(AU)’”

But he answered, “No, I will die here.”

Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”

31 Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood(AV) that Joab shed. 32 The Lord will repay(AW) him for the blood he shed,(AX) because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa(AY) son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better(AZ) men and more upright than he. 33 May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace forever.”

34 So Benaiah(BA) son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab(BB) and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. 35 The king put Benaiah(BC) son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok(BD) the priest.

36 Then the king sent for Shimei(BE) and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley,(BF) you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”(BG)

38 Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish(BH) son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn(BI) you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong(BJ) you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure(BK) before the Lord forever.”

46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah(BL) son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei(BM) down and he died.

The kingdom was now established(BN) in Solomon’s hands.

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New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

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