1 Kings 2

1 And the days of David to die draw near, and he charges his son Solomon, saying,

Now the time of David's death came near; and he gave orders to Solomon his son, saying,

2 “I am going in the way of all the earth, and you have been strong, and become a man,

I am going the way of all the earth: so be strong and be a man;

3 and you have kept the charge of your God YHWH, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you do wisely [in] all that you do, and wherever you turn,

And keep the orders of the Lord your God, walking in his ways, keeping his laws and his orders and his rules and his words, as they are recorded in the law of Moses; so that you may do well in all you do and wherever you go,

4 so that YHWH establishes His word which He spoke to me, saying, If your sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, A man of yours is never cut off from the throne of Israel.

So that the Lord may give effect to what he said of me, If your children give attention to their ways, living uprightly before me with all their heart and their soul, you will never be without a man to be king in Israel.

5 And also, you have known that which he did to me—Joab son of Zeruiah—that which he did to two heads of the hosts of Israel, to Abner son of Ner, and to Amasa son of Jether—that he slays them, and makes the blood of war in peace, and puts the blood of war in his girdle, that [is] on his loins, and in his sandals that [are] on his feet;

Now you have knowledge of what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me, and to the two captains of the army of Israel, Abner, the son of Ner, and Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he put to death, taking payment for the blood of war in time of peace, and making the band of my clothing and the shoes on my feet red with the blood of one put to death without cause.

6 and you have done according to your wisdom, and do not let his old age go down in peace to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)

So be guided by your wisdom, and let not his white head go down to the underworld in peace. (Sheol h7585)

7 And you do kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and they have been among those eating at your table, for so they drew near to me in my fleeing from the face of your brother Absalom.

But be good to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be guests at your table; for so they came to me when I went in flight from Absalom your brother.

8 And behold, Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, [is] with you, and he reviled me—a grievous reviling—in the day of my going to Mahanaim; and he has come down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swear to him by YHWH, saying, I do not put you to death by the sword;

Now you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera the Benjamite of Bahurim, who put a bitter curse on me on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to see me at Jordan, and I gave him my oath by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death by the sword.

9 and now, do not acquit him, for you [are] a wise man, and you have known that which you do to him, and have brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.” (Sheol h7585)

But do not let him be free from punishment, for you are a wise man; and it will be clear to you what you have to do with him; see that his white head goes down to the underworld in blood. (Sheol h7585)

10 And David lies down with his fathers, and is buried in the City of David,

Then David went to rest with his fathers, and his body was put into the earth in the town of David.

11 and the days that David has reigned over Israel [are] forty years; he has reigned seven years in Hebron, and he has reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

David was king over Israel for forty years: for seven years he was king in Hebron and for thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

12 And Solomon has sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom is established greatly,

And Solomon took his place on the seat of David his father, and his kingdom was made safe and strong.

13 and Adonijah son of Haggith comes to Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, and she says, “Is your coming peace?” And he says, “Peace.”

Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, Come you in peace? And he said, Yes, in peace.

14 And he says, “I have a word for you,” and she says, “Speak.”

Then he said, I have something to say to you. And she said, Say on.

15 And he says, “You have known that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces toward me for reigning, and the kingdom is turned around, and is my brother’s, for it was his from YHWH;

And he said, You saw how the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had the idea that I would be their king; but now the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother's, for it was given to him by the Lord.

16 and now, I am asking one petition of you—do not turn back my face”; and she says to him, “Speak.”

Now I have one request to make to you, and do not say, No, to me. And she said to him, Say on.

17 And he says, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he does not turn back your face, and he gives Abishag the Shunammite to me for a wife.”

Then he said, Will you go to Solomon the king (for he will not say, No, to you) and put before him my request that he will give me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife?

18 And Bathsheba says, “Good; I speak to the king for you.”

And Bath-sheba said, Good! I will make your request to the king.

19 And Bathsheba comes to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king rises to meet her, and bows himself to her, and sits on his throne, and places a throne for the mother of the king, and she sits at his right hand.

So Bath-sheba went to King Solomon to have talk with him on Adonijah's account. And the king got up to come to her, and went down low to the earth before her; then he took his place on the king's seat and had a seat made ready for the king's mother and she took her place at his right hand.

20 And she says, “I ask one small petition of you, do not turn back my face”; and the king says to her, “Ask, my mother, for I do not turn back your face.”

Then she said, I have one small request to make to you; do not say, No, to me. And the king said, Say on, my mother, for I will not say, No, to you.

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

And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother for a wife.

22 And King Solomon answers and says to his mother, “And why are you asking [for] Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Also ask [for] the kingdom for him—for he [is] my elder brother—even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.”

Then King Solomon made answer and said to his mother, Why are you requesting me to give Abishag the Shunammite to Adonijah? Take the kingdom for him in addition, for he is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab, the son of Zeruiah, are on his side.

23 And King Solomon swears by YHWH, saying, “Thus God does to me, and thus He adds—surely Adonijah has spoken this word against his [own] soul;

Then King Solomon took an oath by the Lord, saying, May God's punishment be on me if Adonijah does not give payment for these words with his life.

24 and now, YHWH lives, who has established me, and causes me to sit on the throne of my father David, and who has made a house for me as He spoke—surely Adonijah is put to death today.”

Now by the living Lord, who has given me my place on the seat of David my father, and made me one of a line of kings, as he gave me his word, truly Adonijah will be put to death this day.

25 And King Solomon sends by the hand of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he falls on him, and he dies.

And King Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and he made an attack on him and put him to death.

26 And the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth, to your fields; for you [are] a man of death, but I do not put you to death in this day, because you have carried the Ark of Lord YHWH before my father David, and because you were afflicted in all that my father was afflicted in.”

And to Abiathar the priest the king said, Go to Anathoth, to your fields; for death would be your right reward; but I will not put you to death now, because you took up the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and you were with him in all his troubles.

27 And Solomon casts out Abiathar from being priest of YHWH, to fulfill the word of YHWH which He spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

So Solomon let Abiathar be priest no longer, so that he might make the word of the Lord come true which he said about the sons of Eli in Shiloh.

28 And the report has come to Joab—for Joab has turned aside after Adonijah, though he did not turn aside after Absalom—and Joab flees to the tent of YHWH, and lays hold on the horns of the altar.

And news of this came to Joab; for Joab had been one of Adonijah's supporters, though he had not been on Absalom's side. Then Joab went in flight to the Tent of the Lord, and put his hands on the horns of the altar.

29 And it is declared to King Solomon that Joab has fled to the tent of YHWH, and behold, [is] near the altar; and Solomon sends Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall on him.”

And they said to King Solomon, Joab has gone in flight to the Tent of the Lord and is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, make an attack on him.

30 And Benaiah comes into the tent of YHWH and says to him, “Thus said the king: Come out”; and he says, “No, but I die here.” And Benaiah brings back word [to] the king, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, indeed, thus he answered me.”

And Benaiah came to the Tent of the Lord and said to him, The king says, Come out. And he said, No; but let death come to me here. And Benaiah went back to the king and gave him word of the answer which Joab had given.

31 And the king says to him, “Do as he has spoken, and fall on him, and you have buried him, and turned aside the causeless blood which Joab shed from off me, and from off the house of my father;

And the king said, Do as he has said and make an attack on him there, and put his body into the earth; so that you may take away from me and from my family the blood of one put to death by Joab without cause.

32 and YHWH has turned back his blood on his own head, [on him] who has fallen on two men more righteous and better than he, and slays them with the sword—and my father David did not know—Abner son of Ner, head of the host of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, head of the host of Judah;

And the Lord will send back his blood on his head, because of the attack he made on two men more upright and better than himself, putting them to the sword without my father's knowledge; even Abner, the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.

33 indeed, their blood has turned back on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed for all time; and for David, and for his seed, and for his house, and for his throne, there is peace for all time, from YHWH.”

So their blood will be on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed for ever; but for David and his seed and his family and the seat of his kingdom, there will be peace for ever from the Lord.

34 And Benaiah son of Jehoiada goes up and falls on him, and puts him to death, and he is buried in his own house in the wilderness,

So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up, and falling on him, put him to death; and his body was put to rest in his house in the waste land.

35 and the king puts Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the host in his stead, and the king has put Zadok the priest in the stead of Abiathar.

And the king put Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his place over the army; and Zadok the priest he put in the place of Abiathar.

36 And the king sends and calls for Shimei, and says to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and you have dwelt there, and do not go out [from] there anywhere;

Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Make a house for yourself in Jerusalem and keep there and go to no other place.

37 and it has been, in the day of your going out, and you have passed over the Brook of Kidron, you certainly know that you surely die—your blood is on your head.”

For be certain that on the day when you go out and go over the stream Kidron, death will overtake you: and your blood will be on your head.

38 And Shimei says to the king, “The word [is] good; as my lord the king has spoken so your servant does”; and Shimei dwells in Jerusalem many days.

And Shimei said to the king, Very well! as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And for a long time Shimei went on living in Jerusalem.

39 And it comes to pass, at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei flee to Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath, and they declare to Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants [are] in Gath”;

But after three years, two of the servants of Shimei went in flight to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And word was given to Shimei that his servants had gone to Gath.

40 and Shimei rises, and saddles his donkey, and goes to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants, and Shimei goes and brings his servants from Gath.

Then Shimei got up, and making ready his ass, he went to Gath, to Achish, in search of his servants; and he sent and got them from Gath.

41 And it is declared to Solomon that Shimei has gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and returns,

And news was given to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back again.

42 and the king sends and calls for Shimei, and says to him, “Have I not caused you to swear by YHWH—and I testify against you, saying, In the day of your going out, and you have gone anywhere, you certainly know that you surely die; and you say to me, The word I have heard [is] good?

Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make you take an oath by the Lord, protesting to you and saying, Be certain that on the day when you go out from here, wherever you go, death will overtake you? and you said to me, Very well!

43 And why have you not kept the oath of YHWH, and the charge that I charged on you?”

Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the order which I gave you?

44 And the king says to Shimei, “You have known all the evil that your heart has known, which you did to my father David, and YHWH has turned back your evil on your head,

And the king said to Shimei, You have knowledge of all the evil which you did to David my father; and now the Lord has sent back your evil on yourself.

45 and King Solomon [is] blessed, and the throne of David is established before YHWH for all time.”

But a blessing will be on King Solomon, and the kingdom of David will keep its place before the Lord for ever.

46 And the king charges Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he goes out and falls on him, and he dies, and the kingdom is established in the hand of Solomon.

So the king gave orders to Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and, falling on him, put him to death. And Solomon's authority over the kingdom was complete.