¹⁶ Shimei son of Gera, a Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the people of Judah to meet King David;^(A)

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.’^(A)

Shimei Curses David

⁵ When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out whose name was Shimei son of Gera; he came out cursing.^{(A) 6} He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; now all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. ⁷ Shimei shouted while he cursed, “Out! Out! Murderer! Scoundrel!^{(B) 8} The Lord has avenged on all of you the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, disaster has overtaken you, for you are a man of blood.”^(C)

⁹ Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.”^{(D) 10} But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”^{(E) 11} David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him.^{(F) 12} It may be that the Lord will look on my distress,^[a] and the Lord will repay me with good for this cursing of me today.”^{(G) 13} So David and his men went on the road while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, throwing stones and flinging dust at him.

²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court^[a] with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.^(A)

⁴ Then the accuser^[a] answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that the man has he will give for his life.

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.^{(A) 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.”^{(B) 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,”^{(C) 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.^{(D) 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.^{(E) 45} But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”^{(F) 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.^(G)