Shimei Curses David

⁵ When King David came to ^(A)Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was ^(B)Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came ^(C)he cursed continually. ⁶ And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. ⁷ And Shimei said as he ^(D)cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! ⁸ The Lord ^(E)has avenged on you all ^(F)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, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

⁹ Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this ^(G)dead dog ^(H)curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” ¹⁰ But the king said, ^(I)“What have I to do with you, ^(J)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?’” ¹¹ And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^(K)my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. ¹² It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me,^[a] and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.” ¹³ So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and ^(L)cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust. ¹⁴ And the king, and all the people who were with him, ^(M)arrived weary at the Jordan.^[b] And there he refreshed himself.

¹⁵ So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan.

David Pardons His Enemies

¹⁶ And ^(A)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And ^(B)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king, ¹⁸ and they crossed the ford to bring over the king's household and to do his pleasure. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was about to cross the Jordan, ¹⁹ and said to the king, ^(C)“Let not my lord hold me guilty or remember how your servant ^(D)did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart. ²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first ^(E)of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” ²¹ Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because ^(F)he cursed the Lord's anointed?” ²² But David said, ^(G)“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me? ^(H)Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?” ^23 (I)And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.