1 Kings 2

1As the days of David drew near for him to die, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,

2I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong, and be a man,

3And keep the charge of Yahweh your God by walking in his ways and by keeping his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may act wisely in all that you do and wherever you turn.

4so that Yahweh may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons keep their way by walking before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ saying, ‘A man of yours shall not be cut off from upon the throne of Israel.’

5And you also know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner son of Ner and to Amasa son of Jether: he killed them and put the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on the belt that was around his waist and on the sandals that were on his feet.

6Act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for this is how they came near to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

8And behold, with you is Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, and he cursed me with a grievous curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

9But now, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him; and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.

10Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. In Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

12And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, and she said, “Do you come in peace?” And he said, “In peace.”

14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.”

15And he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel had set their faces on me to reign; but the kingdom turned and became my brother’s, for it was his from Yahweh.”

16And now I am asking one request of you; do not turn away my face. And she said to him, “Speak.”

17And he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, and let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

18Bathsheba said, “Good; I will speak to the king for you.”

19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down before her. Then he sat on his throne and had a throne placed for the king's mother, and she sat at his right hand.

20She said, “I am asking one small request of you; do not turn away my face.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not turn away your face.”

21And she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”

22King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Why are you asking for Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for the kingship for him as well, since he is my older brother—and for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”

23Then King Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, for Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life.”

24And now, as Yahweh lives, who has established me and seated me on the throne of David my father, and who has made for me a house as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.

25So King Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.

26And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your field, for you are a man deserving death; but on this day I will not put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because you shared in all the affliction with which my father was afflicted.”

27So Solomon drove Abiathar out from being priest to Yahweh, fulfilling the word of Yahweh that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28And the report came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of Yahweh and took hold of the horns of the altar.

29And it was reported to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Yahweh, and behold, he was beside the altar. So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.”

30Then Benaiah came to the tent of Yahweh and said to him, “Thus says the king: ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought word back to the king, saying, “Thus Joab spoke, and thus he answered me.”

31Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, and remove from me and from my father’s house the innocent blood that Joab shed.”

32And Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword while my father David did not know it: Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

33So their blood shall return on the head of Joab and on the head of his offspring forever, but for David and for his offspring and for his house and for his throne, there shall be peace forever from Yahweh.

34Then Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck him down, and put him to death; and he was buried at his house in the wilderness.

35And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.

36Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there anywhere.”

37For on the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.

38Shimei said to the king, “The word is good. Just as my lord the king has spoken, so your servant will do.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39At the end of three years, two servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your servants are in Gath.”

40Then Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath, to Achish, to look for his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants back from Gath.

41And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned.

42Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by Yahweh and warn you, saying, ‘On the day you go out and go anywhere at all, know for certain that you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word is good; I have heard.’”

43Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh and the command that I commanded you?

44Then the king said to Shimei, “You know all the evil that your heart knows, which you did to David my father; and Yahweh has returned your evil on your own head.”

45But King Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before Yahweh forever.

46Then 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.