1The time came near for David to die. So he gave orders to his son Solomon.2He said, ‘I’m about to die, just as everyone else on earth does. So be strong. Show how brave you are.3Do everything the LORD your God requires. Live the way he wants you to. Obey his orders and commands. Keep his laws and rules. Do everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will have success in everything you do. You will succeed everywhere you go.4The LORD will keep the promise he made to me. He said, “Your sons must be careful about how they live. They must be faithful to me with all their heart and soul. Then you will always have a son from your family line to sit on the throne of Israel.”5‘You yourself know what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me. You know that he killed Abner, the son of Ner, and Amasa, the son of Jether. They were the two commanders of Israel’s armies. He killed them in a time of peace. It wasn’t a time of war. Joab spilled the blood of Abner and Amasa. With that blood he stained the belt around his waist. He also stained the sandals on his feet.6You are wise. So I leave him in your hands. Just don’t let him live to become an old man. Don’t let him die peacefully.7‘But be kind to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead. Provide what they need. They were faithful to me when I had to run away from your brother Absalom.8‘Don’t forget that Shimei, the son of Gera, is still around. He’s from Bahurim in the territory of Benjamin. Shimei cursed me bitterly. He did it on the day I went to Mahanaim. Later, he came down to welcome me at the River Jordan. At that time I made a promise in the name of the LORD. I promised Shimei, “I won’t put you to death with my sword.”9But now I want you to think of him as guilty. You are wise. You will know what to do to him. Don’t let him live to become an old man. Put him to death.’10David joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David.11He had ruled over Israel for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron. Then he ruled for 33 years in Jerusalem.12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David. His position as king was made secure.
Solomon’s kingdom is made secure
13Adonijah was the son of David’s wife Haggith. He went to Bathsheba. She was Solomon’s mother. She asked Adonijah, ‘Have you come in peace?’ He answered, ‘Yes. I’ve come in peace.’14He continued, ‘I want to ask you something.’ ‘Go ahead’, she replied.15He said, ‘As you know, the kingdom belonged to me. The whole nation of Israel thought of me as their king. But now things have changed. The kingdom belongs to my brother. The LORD has given it to him.16But I have a favour to ask of you. Don’t say no to me.’ ‘Go ahead’, she said.17So he continued, ‘Please ask King Solomon for a favour. He won’t say no to you. Ask him to give me Abishag from Shunem to be my wife.’18‘All right’, Bathsheba replied. ‘I’ll speak to the king for you.’19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon. She went to him to speak for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her. He bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for his mother. She sat down at his right side.20‘I have one small favour to ask of you,’ she said. ‘Don’t say no to me.’ The king replied, ‘Mother, go ahead and ask. I won’t say no to you.’21She said, ‘Let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the Shunammite.’22King Solomon answered his mother, ‘Why are you asking me to give Abishag, the Shunammite, to Adonijah? You might as well ask me to give him the whole kingdom! After all, he’s my elder brother. And he doesn’t want the kingdom only for himself. He also wants it for Abiathar the priest and for Joab, the son of Zeruiah.’23Then King Solomon made a promise in the name of the LORD. He said, ‘Adonijah will pay with his life because of what he has asked for. If he doesn’t, may God punish me greatly.24The LORD has made my position as king secure. I’m sitting on the throne of my father David. The LORD has built a royal house for me, just as he promised. You can be sure that the LORD lives. And you can be just as sure that Adonijah will be put to death today.’25So King Solomon gave the order to Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. Benaiah struck down Adonijah, and he died.26The king spoke to Abiathar the priest. He said, ‘Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You should really be put to death. But I won’t have it done now. That’s because you carried the ark of the LORD and King. You did it for my father David. You shared all of his hard times.’27So Solomon wouldn’t let Abiathar serve as a priest of the LORD anymore. That’s how the message the LORD had spoken at Shiloh came true. He had spoken it about the family of Eli.28News of what Solomon had done reached Joab. Joab had never made evil plans along with Absalom. But he had joined Adonijah. So he ran to the tent of the LORD. He grabbed the horns that stuck out from the upper corners of the altar for burnt offerings.29King Solomon was told that Joab had run to the tent. He was also told that Joab was by the altar. Then Solomon gave the order to Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. He told him, ‘Go! Strike him down!’30So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD. He said to Joab, ‘The king says, “Come on out!” ’ But Joab answered, ‘No. I’d rather die here.’ Benaiah told the king what Joab had said to him.31Then the king commanded Benaiah, ‘Do what he says. Strike him down and bury him. Then I and my family line won’t be held accountable for the blood Joab spilled. He killed people who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.32The LORD will pay him back for the blood he spilled. Joab attacked two men. He killed them with his sword. And my father David didn’t even know anything about it. Joab killed Abner, the son of Ner. Abner was the commander of Israel’s army. Joab also killed Amasa, the son of Jether. Amasa was the commander of Judah’s army. Abner and Amasa were better men than Joab is. They were more honest than he is.33May Joab and his children after him be held for ever accountable for spilling the blood of Abner and Amasa. But may David and his children after him enjoy the LORD’s peace and rest for ever. May the LORD also give his peace to David’s royal house and kingdom for ever.’34So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up to the LORD’s tent. There he struck down Joab. And he killed him. Joab was buried at his home out in the country.35The king put Benaiah in charge of the army. Benaiah took Joab’s place. The king also put Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.36Then the king sent for Shimei. He said to him, ‘Build yourself a house in Jerusalem. Live there. Don’t go anywhere else.37You must not leave the city and go across the Kidron Valley. If you do, you can be sure you will die. And it will be your own fault.’38Shimei replied to the king, ‘You are my king and master. What you say is good. I’ll do it.’ Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.39Three years after Solomon had talked with Shimei, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off. They went to Achish, the king of Gath. He was the son of Maakah. Shimei was told, ‘Your slaves are in Gath.’40When Shimei heard that, he put a saddle on his donkey. Then he went to Achish at Gath to look for his slaves. Shimei found them and brought them back from Gath.41Solomon was told that Shimei had left Jerusalem. He was told he had gone to Gath and had returned.42So the king sent for Shimei. He said to him, ‘Didn’t I force you to make a promise in the name of the LORD? Didn’t I warn you? I said, “You must not leave the city and go somewhere else. If you do, you can be sure you will die.” At that time you said to me, “What you say is good. I’ll obey your command.”43So why didn’t you keep your promise to the LORD? Why didn’t you obey the command I gave you?’44The king continued, ‘You know all the wrong things you did to my father David. In your heart you know them. Now the LORD will pay you back for what you did.45But I will be blessed. The LORD will make David’s kingdom secure for ever.’46Then the king gave the order to Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. Benaiah left the palace and struck down Shimei. And he died. So the kingdom was now made secure in Solomon’s hands.
1 Kings 2
English Standard Version
David’s Instructions to Solomon
1When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, (Ge 47:29)2“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, (Jos 1:6; Jos 23:14)3and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, (De 29:9; 1Ch 22:12)4that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack[1] a man on the throne of Israel.’ (2Sa 7:12; 2Sa 7:25; 1Ki 3:6; 1Ki 8:25; 1Ki 9:4; 1Ki 9:5; 2Ki 20:3; Ps 132:12)5“Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging[2] in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war[3] on the belt around his[4] waist and on the sandals on his feet. (2Sa 3:27; 2Sa 3:39; 2Sa 18:5; 2Sa 18:12; 2Sa 18:14; 2Sa 20:10; 1Ki 2:32)6Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. (1Ki 2:9)7But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty[5] they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. (2Sa 9:7; 2Sa 9:10; 2Sa 17:27; 2Sa 19:31)8And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous 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, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ (2Sa 16:5; 2Sa 17:24; 2Sa 19:18)9Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.” (Ge 42:38; Ge 44:31; 1Ki 2:6)
The Death of David
10Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. (1Ki 1:21; 1Ki 3:1; 1Ki 9:24; Ac 2:29; Ac 13:36)11And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. (2Sa 5:4; 1Ch 29:26)12So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. (1Ch 29:23; 2Ch 1:1)
Solomon’s Reign Established
13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” (1Sa 16:4)14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.”15He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord. (1Ki 1:5; 1Ki 1:25; 1Ch 22:9; 1Ch 28:5)16And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.”17And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” (1Ki 1:3)18Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”19So 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, and she sat on his right. (Ps 45:9)20Then 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.”21She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” (1Ki 2:17)22King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiathar[6] the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” (1Ki 1:6; 1Ki 1:7; 1Ki 2:17; 1Ch 3:2; 1Ch 3:5)23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! (Ru 1:17)24Now therefore 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, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” (Ru 3:13; 2Sa 7:11; 2Sa 7:13; 1Ch 22:10)25So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died. (2Sa 8:18)26And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “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 David my father, and because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” (Jos 21:18; 1Sa 22:20; 1Sa 23:6; 2Sa 15:24; 2Sa 15:29)27So Solomon expelled 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. (1Sa 2:27; 1Ki 2:35)28When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. (2Sa 17:25; 2Sa 18:2; 1Ki 1:7; 1Ki 1:50)29And 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.”30So 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.”31The 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. (Ex 21:14; Nu 35:33; De 19:13; De 21:8)32The 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 himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. (Jud 9:24; 2Sa 3:27; 2Sa 20:9; 1Ki 2:5; 2Ch 21:13)33So 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.” (1Ki 2:32)34Then 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.35The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. (1Ki 2:27; 1Ki 4:4; 1Ch 29:22)36Then the king sent and summoned 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. (1Ki 2:8)37For on the day you go out and cross the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. Your blood shall be on your own head.” (2Sa 1:16; 2Sa 15:23)38And 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.39But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” (1Sa 27:2)40Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.41And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned,42the 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.’43Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?”44The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head. (1Sa 25:39; 2Sa 16:5)45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” (Pr 25:5)46Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. (1Ki 2:12; 2Ch 1:1)