1 Kings 2:12-46
English Standard Version
12 (A)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, (B)“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 (C)the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, (D)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 (E)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, (F)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 (G)Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask (H)Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, (I)for he is my older brother, and on his side (J)are Abiathar[a] the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, (K)“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24 Now therefore (L)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, (M)as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon sent (N)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to (O)Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, (P)because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, (Q)and because you shared in all my father's affliction.” 27 (R)So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling (S)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 (T)had supported Adonijah although (U)he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the (V)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, (W)“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, (X)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 (Y)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 (Z)more righteous and better than himself, (AA)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and (AB)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 (AC)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 (AD)The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put (AE)Zadok the priest (AF)in the place of Abiathar.
36 Then the king sent and summoned (AG)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 (AH)the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. (AI)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 (AJ)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 (AK)all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will (AL)bring back your harm on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, (AM)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.
(AN)So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
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- 1 Kings 2:22 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew and for him and for Abiathar
1 Kings 2:12-46
Common English Bible
Solomon secures his throne
12 Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his royal power was well established. 13 Adonijah, Haggith’s son, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She said, “Are you coming in peace?”
He said, “Yes. 14 I have something to say to you.”
She said, “Say it.”
15 He said, “You know how the kingdom was mine. All Israel had appointed me as their king. Then suddenly the kingdom went to my brother as the Lord willed. 16 Now I have just one request of you. Don’t refuse me!”
She said to him, “Go on.”
17 Adonijah continued, “Ask King Solomon to let me marry Abishag from Shunem—he won’t refuse you.”
18 Bathsheba said, “Okay; I’ll speak to the king for you.”
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to talk with him about Adonijah. The king stood up to meet her and bowed low to her. Then he returned to his throne and had a throne set up for the queen mother. She sat to his right. 20 She said, “I have just one small request for you. Don’t refuse me.”
The king said to her, “Mother, ask me. I won’t refuse you.”
21 “Let Abishag from Shunem be married to your brother Adonijah,” she said.
22 King Solomon replied to his mother, “Why ask only for Abishag from Shunem for Adonijah? Why not ask for the entire kingdom for him? After all, he is my older brother and has the support of Abiathar the priest and Joab, Zeruiah’s son.” 23 King Solomon swore by the Lord, “May God do to me as he sees fit! Adonijah has made this request at the cost of his life! 24 Now, as surely as the Lord lives—the one who supported me, put me on the throne of my father David, and provided a royal house for me exactly as he promised—Adonijah will be executed today.” 25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son. He attacked Adonijah, and Adonijah died.
26 The king said to the priest Abiathar, “Go to your fields at Anathoth, because you are a condemned man. However, I won’t kill you today because you carried the Lord’s chest in front of my father David and because you shared in all my father’s sufferings.” 27 So Solomon expelled Abiathar from the Lord’s priesthood in order to fulfill the Lord’s word that was spoken against Eli’s family at Shiloh.
28 Now the news reached Joab because he had supported Adonijah, though he hadn’t supported Absalom. Joab ran to the Lord’s tent and grabbed the horns of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the Lord’s tent and was now beside the altar. So Solomon sent Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, instructing him, “Go. Attack Joab!”
30 Benaiah came to the Lord’s tent and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
Joab said, “No! I’d rather die here.”
Benaiah sent a report back to the king: “This is what Joab said and how he answered me.”
31 The king said to him, “Do as he said. Attack him and then bury him. In doing this, you will remove from me and from my father’s royal house the guilt over the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32 May the Lord return that bloodguilt back on his own head for attacking the two men who were better and more righteous than he was. He murdered those two with the sword: Abner, Ner’s son and Israel’s general, and Amasa, Jether’s son and Judah’s general. But my father David didn’t know about it. 33 May the bloodguilt for their deaths return on Joab’s head and on the head of his family line forever. But may the Lord’s peace be on David, his family, and his royal house forever.” 34 So Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, went and attacked Joab and killed him.
Joab was buried at his home in the wilderness. 35 In his place, the king gave leadership of the army to Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son. The king put the priest Zadok in Abiathar’s position. 36 Then he sent for Shimei and said, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and stay in the city. Don’t leave to go anywhere else. 37 If you try to leave, be advised that on the day you cross the Kidron Valley you will most certainly die. Your bloodguilt will be on your own head.”
38 Shimei said to the king, “This is a good idea. Your servant will do just what my master the king said.” So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.
39 After three years, two of Shimei’s servants fled to the king of Gath, Achish, Maacah’s son. Shimei was informed, “Your servants are now in Gath.” 40 Shimei saddled his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to look for his servants. Shimei then brought his servants back from Gath. 41 Solomon was told that Shimei had left Jerusalem for Gath and then returned.
42 The king sent for Shimei and asked him, “Didn’t I make you swear a solemn pledge by the Lord? And didn’t I swear to you, ‘If you try to leave and go anywhere, be advised that on that very day you will most certainly die’? You said to me, ‘This is a good idea. I agree to it.’ 43 Why didn’t you keep your solemn promise to the Lord and the command that I gave you?” 44 The king said further, “You know quite well all the evil that you did to my father David. May the Lord return your evil on your own head. 45 However, may King Solomon be blessed and David’s throne be secure before the Lord forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, who went and attacked Shimei, and he died.
In these ways royal power was handed over to Solomon.
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