1 Kings 2
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22
1 Now the days of David drew
nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou
strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God,
to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his
judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou
mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
4 That the LORD may continue his word
which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to
walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there
shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the
son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the
hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether,
whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon
his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on
his feet.
6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom,
and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
7 But shew kindness unto the sons of
Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so
they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
8 And, behold, thou hast with thee
Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous
curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan,
and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the
sword.
9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless:
for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him;
but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
10 So David slept with his fathers, and
was buried in the city of David.
11 And the days that David reigned over
Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and
three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
12 Then sat Solomon upon the
throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to
Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he
said, Peaceably.
14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to
say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
15 And he said, Thou knowest that the
kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I
should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s:
for it was his from the LORD.
16 And now I ask one petition of thee,
deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto
Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the
Shunammite to wife.
18 And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak
for thee unto the king.
19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king
Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and
bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set
for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.
20 Then she said, I desire one small
petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto
her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
21 And she said, Let Abishag the
Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
22 And king Solomon answered and said unto
his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for
him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for
Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
23 Then king Solomon sware by the LORD,
saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word
against his own life.
24 Now therefore, as the LORD
liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father,
and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death
this day.
25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
26 And unto Abiathar the
priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art
worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou
barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast
been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.
27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from
being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he
spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had
turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto
the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab
was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the
altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of
the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay;
but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said
Joab, and thus he answered me.
31 And the king said unto him, Do as he
hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the
innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
32 And the LORD shall return his blood
upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and
slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit,
Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether,
captain of the host of Judah.
33 Their blood shall therefore return upon
the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and
upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for
ever from the LORD.
34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up,
and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the
wilderness.
35 And the king put Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the
room of Abiathar.
36 And the king sent and called for Shimei,
and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not
forth thence any whither.
37 For it shall be, that on the day
thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain
that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
38 And Shimei said unto the king, The
saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do.
And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39 And it came to pass at the end of three
years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah
king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in
Gath.
40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass,
and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought
his servants from Gath.
41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had
gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
42 And the king sent and called for Shimei,
and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto
thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad
any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that
I have heard is good.
43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of
the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou
knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to
David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own
head;
45 And king Solomon shall be
blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son
of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom
was established in the hand of Solomon.
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