1 Kings 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
David’s Instruction to Solomon
2 When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying:(A) 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous,(B) 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.(C) 4 Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: ‘If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’(D)
5 “Moreover, you know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered, retaliating in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war and putting innocent blood[a] on the belt around my[b] waist and on the sandals on my[c] feet.(E) 6 Act, therefore, according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.(F) 7 Deal loyally, however, with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from your brother Absalom.(G) 8 There is also with you Shimei son of Gera, a Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a terrible curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’(H) 9 Therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you must bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”(I)
Death of David
10 Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David.(J) 11 The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.(K) 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.(L)
Solomon Consolidates His Reign
13 Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.”(M) 14 Then he said, “May I have a word with you?” She said, “Go on.” 15 He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel expected me to reign; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.(N) 16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Go on.” 17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”(O) 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf.”
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne and had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.(P) 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.”(Q) 21 She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”(R) 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom as well! For he is my elder brother, and the priest Abiathar and Joab son of Zeruiah are on his side!”(S) 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, “So may God do to me, and more also, for Adonijah has devised this scheme at the risk of his life!(T) 24 Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of my father David and who has made me a house as he promised, today Adonijah shall be put to death.”(U) 25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck him down, and he died.
26 The king said to the priest Abiathar, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David and because you shared in all the hardships my father endured.”(V) 27 So Solomon banished Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.(W)
28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah though he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and grasped the horns of the altar.(X) 29 When it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord and now is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.”(Y) 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, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause.(Z) 32 The Lord will 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 more righteous and better than he: Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.(AA) 33 So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever, but to David, and to his descendants, and to his house, and to his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.”(AB) 34 Then Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and killed him, and he was buried at his own house near the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king put the priest Zadok in the place of Abiathar.(AC)
36 Then the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever.(AD) 37 For on the day you go out and cross the Wadi Kidron, know for certain that you shall die; your blood shall be on your own head.”(AE) 38 And Shimei said to the king, “The sentence is fair; 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 slaves ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When it was told Shimei, “Your slaves are in Gath,”(AF) 40 Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Achish in Gath, to search for his slaves; Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.(AG) 41 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 adjure 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, ‘The sentence is fair; I accept.’ 43 Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I charged you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the evil that you did to my father David, so the Lord will bring back your evil on your own head.(AH) 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”(AI) 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.
So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.(AJ)
1 Kings 2
International Standard Version
David Instructs Solomon
2 As David’s time to die approached, he addressed his son Solomon with these words:
2 “I’m headed down the road that everyone who lives on earth travels, so be strong and demonstrate that you’re a grown man 3 by keeping the charge that the Lord your God entrusted to you. Live life his way, keep his statutes, his commands, his ordinances, and his testimonies, just as they’re written down in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in everything you do and wherever you go,[a] 4 and so that the Lord may fulfill his promise that he spoke about me when he said, ‘If your sons pay attention to how they live by walking truthfully in my presence with all their heart and with all their soul, you will never lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 “Furthermore, you’re aware of what Zeruiah’s son Joab did to me and to those two commanders of the armies of Israel, Ner’s son Abner and Jether’s son Amasa, whom he killed, and how he shed the blood of wartime during times of peace, staining the very belt he wears around his waist and the sandals he wears on his feet. 6 So act consistently with your wisdom, and don’t let him die as a peaceful old man.[b] 7 Be gracious to the descendants of Barzillai the Gileadite, and provide for them in your household,[c] because they helped me when I had to run from your brother Absalom.
8 “Pay attention now! You have with you Gera’s son Shimei the descendant of Benjamin from Bahurim. He cursed me violently that day when I had to leave for Mahanaim. When he visited me at the Jordan River,[d] I made an oath to the Lord and told him, ‘I won’t execute you with a sword.’ 9 But don’t let him off unpunished, since you’re a wise man and you’ll know what you need to do to him. Find a way that he dies in his old age[e] by shedding his blood.”
David Dies and Solomon Consolidates His Reign(A)
10 After this, David died, as had[f] his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. 11 David had reigned over Israel for 40 years. He reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for 33 years. 12 Solomon then assumed his father David’s throne, and his kingdom was firmly established.
Adonijah asks for Abishag
13 Later, Haggith’s son Adonijah approached Solomon’s mother. “Are you here on a peaceful mission?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied. 14 “I have something to ask you about.”
“Talk,” she told him.
15 So he replied, “You know that the kingdom should have come to me, and that everyone in Israel intended to place me as the next[g] king. However, the kingdom has turned around and now belongs to my brother, because it went to him from the Lord. 16 So now I’m asking one thing from you. Don’t refuse me.”
“Talk,” she told him.
17 Then he asked her, “Please talk to King Solomon for me, since he won’t refuse you. Ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I’ll talk to the king for you.” 19 So Bathsheba went to talk to King Solomon for Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. He ordered a throne be set in place for his mother. She sat on a throne to his right 20 and told him,[h] “I would like to make a minor request of you. Please don’t refuse me.”
“What is your request, mother?” the king asked her. “I won’t turn you down.”
21 So she asked him, “Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as a wife.”
22 But King Solomon replied to his mother, “Why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Why not ask me to give up the kingdom for him, since he’s my older brother, and why not ask[i] for Abiathar the priest, and for Zeruiah’s son Joab?”
23 Then King Solomon took this oath in the name of the Lord: “May God do so to me, and more besides, if Adonijah hasn’t endangered his life by bringing up this subject. 24 Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of my father David, and who has established a dynasty, just like he promised, Adonijah will surely be executed today.” 25 So King Solomon sent for Jehoiada’s son Benaiah, who attacked and killed Adonijah.[j]
26 The king also told Abiathar the priest, “Go home to Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I won’t kill you today, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David and because you shared all the troubles that my father went through.” 27 So Solomon fired Abiathar as the Lord’s priest, thus fulfilling the promise that the Lord had spoken in Shiloh concerning Eli’s household.[k]
Joab is Executed
28 When Joab learned what had happened, he ran to the Lord’s tent and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar, since Joab had supported Adonijah (though he had not supported Absalom). 29 Somebody informed King Solomon, “Joab just ran to the Lord’s tent and now he’s standing beside the altar!”
But Solomon ordered Jehoiada’s son Benaiah, “Go kill him!”
30 So Benaiah went into the Lord’s tent and told Joab,[l] “The king orders you to come out!”
“No,” Joab said, “I’d rather die here!”
So Benaiah went and informed the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”
31 The king replied to him, “Do just what he asked. Kill him and bury him so that you may remove from me and from my father’s household the guilt that Joab shed needlessly. 32 The Lord will repay him for his bloodshed because, without my father David’s consent he attacked and murdered two men more righteous and better than he, Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Israel’s army and Jether’s son Amasa, commander of Judah’s army. 33 May their blood be repaid to Joab and to his descendants forever, and may there be peace shown from the Lord forever to David, to his descendants, to his household, and to his throne.”
34 Jehoiada’s son Benaiah then approached Joab, attacked him, killed him, and had him buried at Joab’s[m] home in the wilderness. 35 The king appointed Jehoiada’s son Benaiah in charge of the army to replace Joab and also appointed Zadok the priest to replace Abiathar.
Shimei is Executed
36 The king sent for Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but don’t go anywhere from there. 37 If you ever leave and cross the Kidron Brook, you can be sure that you’ll die. You’ll be responsible for your own death.”
38 Shimei replied to the king, “What your majesty has decreed is acceptable to me. I’ll do what you’ve said.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for quite some time. 39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s servants escaped to Maacah’s son Achish, the king of Gath.
Somebody told Shimei, “Look! Your servants went to Gath!” 40 So Shimei got up, saddled a donkey, and traveled to Gath to find his servants. He found them and brought them back from Gath.
41 Later, Solomon found out that Shimei had left Jerusalem, gone to Gath, and had returned, 42 so the king sent for Shimei and asked him, “Didn’t I make a promise to the Lord and warn you, ‘The day you leave and go anywhere else, you can be sure you’ll die’? And you told me, ‘What your majesty has decreed is acceptable to me.’ 43 So why haven’t you kept the oath you made to the Lord, and why didn’t you obey my personal order to you?”
44 The king also reminded Shimei, “You know all the evil things that you admit you did to my father David. Therefore the Lord is going to repay you for[n] all of your evil. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will be established in the presence of the Lord forever.” 46 So the king gave orders to Jehoiada’s son Benaiah to go out, attack Shimei, and kill him. That is how the kingdom was established under Solomon’s control.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 2:3 Lit. turn
- 1 Kings 2:6 Lit. let his gray hair descend to Sheol in peace
- 1 Kings 2:7 Lit. them at your table
- 1 Kings 2:8 The Heb. lacks River
- 1 Kings 2:9 Lit. Bring his gray hair down to Sheol
- 1 Kings 2:10 Lit. David slept with
- 1 Kings 2:15 The Heb. lacks the next
- 1 Kings 2:20 The Heb. lacks to him
- 1 Kings 2:22 The Heb. lacks why not ask
- 1 Kings 2:25 Lit. him
- 1 Kings 2:27 Cf. 1Sam 2:27-36
- 1 Kings 2:30 Lit. him
- 1 Kings 2:34 Lit. his
- 1 Kings 2:44 Lit. repay on your head
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