1 Kings 2
Amplified Bible
David’s Charge to Solomon
2 When David’s time to die approached, he gave instructions to Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am going the way of all the earth [as dust to dust]. Be strong and prove yourself a man. 3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, [that is, fulfill your obligation to] walk in His ways, keep His statutes, His commandments, His precepts, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in everything that you do and wherever you turn, 4 so that the Lord may fulfill His [a]promise concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful regarding their way [of life], to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and mind and with all their soul, you shall not fail to have a man (descendant) on the throne of Israel.’
5 Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah [my sister] did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, [both of] whom he murdered; [b]avenging the blood of war in [a time of] peace. And he put the [innocent] blood of war [of Abner and Amasa] on his [c]belt that was around his [d]waist, and on his sandals on his feet. 6 So act in accordance with your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in peace. 7 But be gracious and kind to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who [have the honor to] eat at your table; for they met me [with kindness] when I fled from your brother Absalom.(A) 8 And look, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim; he is the one who cursed me with a sinister curse the day 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 But now do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray head down to Sheol [covered] with blood.”
Death of David
10 So David lay down with his fathers [in death] and was buried in the [e]City of David. 11 The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned 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 Now Adonijah the son of [David and] Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, “Do you come in peace?” And he said, “In peace.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15 So he said, “You know that the kingdom belonged to me [as the eldest living son] and all Israel [f]looked to me and expected me to be king. However, the kingdom has passed [from me] and became my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord. 16 So now I am making one request of you; do not [g]refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17 He said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you; ask that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”(B) 18 Bathsheba replied, “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 rose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat down on his throne; then he had a throne set for her, the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.” 22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking for [h]Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask the kingdom for him also—since he is my older brother—[ask it] for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah [his supporters]!” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do the same to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not requested this [deplorable] thing against his own [i]life. 24 So now, 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 indeed be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he [j]struck Adonijah and he died.
26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth to your own fields, for you [k]certainly deserve to die; but I will not put you to death this day, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and you suffered everything that my father endured.” 27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar [a descendant of Eli] from being priest to the Lord, fulfilling the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house (descendants) of Eli in Shiloh.(C)
Joab Executed
28 Now the news reached Joab, for Joab had supported and followed Adonijah, although he had not followed Absalom. So Joab fled to the [sacred] tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar [to seek asylum]. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was at that moment beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, [l]strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and told Joab, “This is what the king commands, ‘Come out of there.’” But Joab said, “No, for I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought word to the king again, saying, “This is what Joab said, and this is how he answered me.” 31 The king said to him, “Do as he has said. [m]Strike him down and bury him, so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 The Lord will return his bloody deeds upon his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and honorable than he and killed them with the sword, without my father David knowing: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and the heads of his descendants forever. But for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up [to the tabernacle] and struck and killed Joab, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness [of Judah]. 35 The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s place, and appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.
Shimei Executed
36 Now the king sent word and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there. Do not go from there to [n]any other place. 37 For on the day you leave and cross over the [o]Brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.” 38 Shimei said to the king, “The word (ruling) is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.
39 But it happened after three years, that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish the son of Maacah, the king of [p]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 look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought them back from Gath. 41 Now Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42 So the king sent word and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you leave [Jerusalem] and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word (ruling) I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I gave 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 shall return your evil on 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 the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck down Shimei, and he died.
So the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 2:4 Lit His word which He spoke.
- 1 Kings 2:5 Lit he also shed.
- 1 Kings 2:5 Lit girdle. The girdle was a band about six inches wide that had clasps or fasteners in front. It was worn around the loins (the midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the hips) and was normally made of leather. Expensive or embroidered girdles were also worn and were made of cotton, flax or silk. The girdle also served as a kind of pocket or pouch and was used to carry personal items such as a dagger, money, or other necessary things.
- 1 Kings 2:5 Lit loins.
- 1 Kings 2:10 Not the walled city today called “Old Jerusalem” but a peninsula of land extending south from the “old city.”
- 1 Kings 2:15 Lit set their faces toward me.
- 1 Kings 2:16 Lit turn away my face; similarly in the following verses.
- 1 Kings 2:22 Even though Abishag remained a virgin while attending David during his final days, no one was closer to him. Bathsheba evidently did not view Abishag’s status as David’s former nurse to be problematic, but Solomon immediately perceived marriage to Abishag as a claim to the throne, which was Adonijah’s true intention in making the request. Abishag would have been considered an inheritance from David.
- 1 Kings 2:23 Lit soul.
- 1 Kings 2:25 Lit fell upon.
- 1 Kings 2:26 Lit are a man of death.
- 1 Kings 2:29 Lit fall upon him.
- 1 Kings 2:31 Lit fall upon.
- 1 Kings 2:36 Lit here and there.
- 1 Kings 2:37 This was the border between the tribal territories of Judah and Benjamin, Shimei’s tribe. Confinement in Jerusalem would stop Shimei from plotting against Solomon.
- 1 Kings 2:39 One of the five major cities of the Philistines.
1 Kings 2
Contemporary English Version
David's Instructions to Solomon
2 Not long before David died, he told Solomon:
2 My son, I will soon die, as everyone must. But I want you to be strong and brave. 3 Do what the Lord your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go. 4 You and your descendants must always faithfully obey the Lord. If you do, he will keep the solemn promise he made to me that someone from our family will always be king of Israel.
5 (A) Solomon, don't forget what Joab did to me by killing Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of Israel's army. He killed them as if they were his enemies in a war, but he did it when there was no war.[a] He is guilty, and now it's up to you to punish him 6 in the way you think best. Whatever you do, don't let him die peacefully in his old age.
7 (B) The sons of Barzillai from Gilead helped me when I was running from your brother Absalom.[b] Be kind to them and let them eat at your table.
8 (C) Be sure to do something about Shimei son of Gera from Bahurim in the territory of Benjamin. He cursed and insulted me the day I went to Mahanaim. But later, when he came to meet me at the Jordan River, I promised that I wouldn't kill him.[c] 9 Now you must punish him. He's an old man, but you're wise enough to know that you must have him killed.
David Dies
10-11 (D) David was king of Israel 40 years. He ruled 7 years from Hebron and 33 years from Jerusalem. Then he died and was buried in Jerusalem.[d] 12 (E) His son Solomon became king and took control of David's kingdom.
Adonijah Is Killed
13 One day, Adonijah went to see Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and she asked, “Is this a friendly visit?”
“Yes. 14 I just want to talk with you.”
“All right,” she told him, “go ahead.”
15 “You know that I was king for a little while,” Adonijah replied. “And everyone in Israel accepted me as their ruler. But the Lord wanted my brother to be king, so now things have changed. 16 Would you do me a favor?”
“What do you want?” Bathsheba asked.
17 (F) “Please ask Solomon to let me marry Abishag. He won't say no to you.”
18 “All right,” she said. “I'll ask him.”
19 When Bathsheba went to see Solomon, he stood up to meet her, then bowed low. He sat back down and had another throne brought in, so his mother could sit at his right side.[e] 20 Bathsheba sat down and then asked, “Would you do me a small favor?”
Solomon replied, “Mother, just tell me what you want, and I will do it.”
21 “Allow your brother Adonijah to marry Abishag,” she answered.
22 Solomon said:
What? Let my older brother marry Abishag? You may as well ask me to let him rule the kingdom! And why don't you ask such favors for Abiathar and Joab?[f]
23 I swear in the name of the Lord that Adonijah will die because he asked for this! If he doesn't, I pray that God will severely punish me. 24 The Lord made me king in my father's place and promised that the kings of Israel would come from my family. Yes, I swear by the living Lord that Adonijah will die today.
25 “Benaiah,” Solomon shouted, “go kill Adonijah.” So Adonijah died.
Abiathar Is Sent Back Home
26 (G) Solomon sent for Abiathar the priest and said:
Abiathar, go back home to Anathoth! You ought to be killed too, but I won't do it now. When my father David was king, you were in charge of the sacred chest, and you went through a lot of hard times with my father. 27 (H) But I won't let you be a priest of the Lord anymore.
And so the promise that the Lord had made at Shiloh about the family of Eli came true.[g]
Joab Is Killed
28 Joab had not helped Absalom try to become king, but he had helped Adonijah. So when Joab learned that Adonijah had been killed, he ran to the sacred tent and grabbed hold of the corners of the altar for protection.[h] 29 When Solomon heard about this, he sent someone to ask Joab, “Why did you run to the altar?”
Joab sent back his answer, “I was afraid of you, and I ran to the Lord for protection.”[i]
Then Solomon shouted, “Benaiah, go kill Joab!”
30 Benaiah went to the sacred tent and yelled, “Joab, the king orders you to come out!”
“No!” Joab answered. “Kill me right here.”
Benaiah went back and told Solomon what Joab had said.
31-32 Solomon replied:
Do what Joab said. Kill him and bury him! Then my family and I won't be responsible for what he did to Abner the commander of Israel's army and to Amasa the commander of Judah's army. He killed those innocent men without my father knowing about it. Both of them were better men than Joab. Now the Lord will make him pay for those murders. 33 Joab's family will always suffer because of what he did, but the Lord will always bless David's family and his kingdom with peace.
34 Benaiah went back and killed Joab. His body was taken away and buried near his home in the desert.
35 Solomon put Benaiah in Joab's place as army commander, and he put Zadok in Abiathar's place as priest.
Shimei Is Killed
36 Solomon sent for Shimei and said, “Build a house here in Jerusalem and live in it. But whatever you do, don't leave the city! 37 If you ever cross Kidron Valley and leave Jerusalem, you will be killed. And it will be your own fault.”
38 “That's fair, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I'll do that.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem from then on.
39 About three years later, two of Shimei's servants ran off to King Achish in Gath. When Shimei found out where they were, 40 he saddled his donkey and went after them. He found them and brought them back to Jerusalem.
41 Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone to Gath and was back. 42 Solomon sent for him and said:
Shimei, you promised in the name of the Lord that you would never leave Jerusalem. I warned you that you would die if you did. You agreed that this was fair, didn't you? 43 You have disobeyed me and have broken the promise you made to the Lord.
44 I know you remember all the cruel things you did to my father David. Now the Lord is going to punish you for what you did. 45 But the Lord will bless me and make my father's kingdom strong forever.
46 “Benaiah,” Solomon shouted, “kill Shimei.” So Shimei died.
Solomon was now in complete control of his kingdom.
Footnotes
- 2.5 war: See 2 Samuel 3.22-27 and 20.7-10.
- 2.7 Absalom: See 2 Samuel 17.27-29.
- 2.8 him: See 2 Samuel 16.5-14 and 19.16-23.
- 2.10,11 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the city of David.”
- 2.19 at his right side: The place of honor.
- 2.22 And why … Joab: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 2.27 the promise … came true: See 1 Samuel 2.27-34.
- 2.28 the corners … for protection: See the note at 1.50.
- 2.29 he sent someone … for protection: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
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