David's Instructions to Solomon

2 ^(A)When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, ^2 (B)“I am about to go the way of all the earth. ^(C)Be strong, and show yourself a man, ³ and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, ^(D)that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴ that the Lord may ^(E)establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ^(F)‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, ^(G)to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, ^(H)you shall not lack^[a] a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁵ “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah ^(I)did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, ^(J)Abner the son of Ner, ^(K)and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging^[b] in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war^[c] on the belt around his^[d] waist and on the sandals on his feet. ⁶ Act therefore ^(L)according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. ⁷ But deal loyally with the sons of ^(M)Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be ^(N)among those who eat at your table, ^(O)for with such loyalty^[e] they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. ⁸ And there is also with you ^(P)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day ^(Q)when I went to Mahanaim. ^(R)But when he came down to meet 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 hold him guiltless, ^(S)for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall ^(T)bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”

The Death of David

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

Solomon's Reign Established

¹³ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, ^(Y)“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” ¹⁵ He said, “You know that ^(Z)the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, ^(AA)for it was his from the Lord. ¹⁶ And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” ¹⁷ And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me ^(AB)Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” ¹⁸ Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”

¹⁹ So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, ^(AC)and she sat on his right. ²⁰ Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” ²¹ She said, “Let ^(AD)Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” ²² King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask ^(AE)Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, ^(AF)for he is my older brother, and on his side ^(AG)are Abiathar^[f] the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” ²³ Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, ^(AH)“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! ²⁴ Now therefore ^(AI)as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, ^(AJ)as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” ²⁵ So King Solomon sent ^(AK)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.

²⁶ And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to ^(AL)Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, ^(AM)because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, ^(AN)and because you shared in all my father's affliction.” ^27 (AO)So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling ^(AP)the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸ When the news came to Joab—for Joab ^(AQ)had supported Adonijah although ^(AR)he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the ^(AS)horns of the altar. ²⁹ And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰ So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” ³¹ The king replied to him, ^(AT)“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, ^(AU)and thus take away from me and from my father's house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. ³² The Lord will ^(AV)bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men ^(AW)more righteous and better than himself, ^(AX)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^(AY)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ^33 (AZ)So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” ³⁴ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ^35 (BA)The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put ^(BB)Zadok the priest ^(BC)in the place of Abiathar.

³⁶ Then the king sent and summoned ^(BD)Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. ³⁷ For on the day you go out and cross ^(BE)the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. ^(BF)Your blood shall be on your own head.” ³⁸ And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹ But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei's servants ran away to ^(BG)Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” ⁴⁰ Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. ⁴¹ And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, ⁴² the king sent and summoned 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 go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ ⁴³ Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” ⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart ^(BH)all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will ^(BI)bring back your harm on your own head. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon shall be blessed, ^(BJ)and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” ⁴⁶ Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.

^(BK)So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Offerings for the Temple

29 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is ^(A)young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for ^(B)the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. ² So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of ^(C)onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. ³ Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: ^4 (D)3,000 talents^[a] of gold, of the gold of ^(E)Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,^{[b] 5} and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself^[c] today to the Lord?”

⁶ Then ^(F)the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and ^(G)the officers over the king's work. ⁷ They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 ^(H)darics^[d] of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. ⁸ And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of ^(I)Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a ^(J)whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David Prays in the Assembly

¹⁰ Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: ^(K)“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. ^11 (L)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. ^12 (M)Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. ^(N)In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. ¹³ And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. ^15 (O)For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are ^(P)like a shadow, and there is no abiding.^{[e] 16} O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. ¹⁷ I know, my God, ^(Q)that you test the heart and ^(R)have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. ¹⁸ O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. ^19 (S)Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may ^(T)build the palace ^(U)for which I have made provision.”

²⁰ Then David said to all the assembly, ^(V)“Bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(W)and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king. ²¹ And they offered sacrifices to the Lord, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their ^(X)drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness.

Solomon Anointed King

And they made Solomon the son of David king ^(Y)the second time, and they ^(Z)anointed him as prince for the Lord, and ^(AA)Zadok as priest.

^23 (AB)Then Solomon sat on the ^(AC)throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord made Solomon very ^(AD)great in the sight of all Israel and ^(AE)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Death of David

²⁶ Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ The ^(AF)time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ²⁸ Then he died ^(AG)at a good age, ^(AH)full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. ²⁹ Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles ^(AI)of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of ^(AJ)Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of ^(AK)Gad the seer, ³⁰ with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances ^(AL)that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

Greeting

1 ^(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

^3 (B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore ^(C)we ourselves boast about you ^(D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ^(E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵ This is ^(F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be ^(G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it ^(H)just ^(I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant ^(J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(L)with his mighty angels ^8 (M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(N)who do not know God and on those who ^(O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of ^(P)eternal destruction, ^(Q)away from^[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ^10 (R)when he comes on ^(S)that day ^(T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(U)testimony to you ^(V)was believed. ¹¹ To this end we ^(W)always pray for you, that our God may ^(X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ^(Y)work of faith by his power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus ^(Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.