1 Kings 2

1 When David [knew that he] was about to die, he gave these final instructions to his son Solomon:

And the days of David drew near that he should die: and he addressed his son Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth:

2 “I am about to die [EUP], like everyone else on earth does. Be courageous and conduct yourself as an adult should.

but be you strong, and show yourself a man;

3 Do what Yahweh our God tells you to do. Conduct yourself as he wants you to do. Obey all of his laws and commands and precepts and instructions that are written in the laws that Moses [gave us]. Do this in order that you will prosper in all that you do and wherever you go.

and keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to keep the commandments and the ordinances and the judgements which are written in the law of Moses; that you may understand what you shall do in all things that I command you:

4 If you continually do that, Yahweh will do what he promised me: He said, ‘If your descendants do what I tell them to do, and faithfully obey my commands with all their inner beings, they will always be [LIT] the ones who will rule [MTY] Israel.’

that the Lord may confirm his word which he spoke, saying, If your children shall take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart, [I promise you], saying, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.

5 “There is something else [that I want you to do]. You know what Joab did to me. He killed my two army commanders, Abner and Amasa. He murdered them violently [MTY] during a time of peace, pretending that it was a time of war. Those two men (were innocent/had not done what was wrong). But Joab [killed them and] their blood to stain his belt and his sandals.

Moreover you know all that Joab the son of Saruia did to me, what he did to the two captains of the forces of Israel, to Abenner the son of Ner, and to Amessai the son of Jether, that he killed them, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put innocent blood on his girdle that was about his loins, and on his sandal that was on his foot.

6 Because you are wise, do to him what you think is best [for you to do], but do not allow him to become old [MTY] and then die [IDM] peacefully. (Sheol h7585)

Therefore you shall deal [with him] according to your wisdom, and you shall not bring down his grey hairs in peace to the grave. (Sheol h7585)

7 “But be kind to the sons of Barzillai, the man from [the] Gilead [region], and be sure that they always have enough food to eat [MTY]. Do that because Barzillai helped me when I was running away from your older brother Absalom.

But you shall deal kindly with the sons of Berzelli the Galaadite, and they shall be amongst those that eat at your table; for thus they drew near to me when I fled from the face of your brother Abessalom.

8 Also, [you remember] Gera’s son Shimei from Bahurim [town] in the area where the descendants of Benjamin live. [You know what he did to me]. He cursed me terribly on the day I [left Jerusalem and] went to Mahanaim [town]. But when he later came down to see me at the Jordan [River], I solemnly promised, while Yahweh listened [MTY], that I would not cause him to be executed.

And, behold, [there is] with you Semei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Baurim: and he cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went into the camp; and he came down to Jordan to meet me, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword.

9 But now you must [LIT] surely punish him. You are a wise man, so you will know what you should do to him. He is an old man [MTY], but be sure that he [loses/sheds] a lot of blood when you kill him [MTY].” (Sheol h7585)

But you shall by no means hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man, and will know what you shall do to him, and shall bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave. (Sheol h7585)

10 Then David died [EUP] and was buried in [that part of Jerusalem which was called] ‘The City of David’.

And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

11 David had been the king of Israel for 40 years: He ruled for seven years in Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem.

And the days which David reigned over Israel [were] forty years; he reigned seven years in Chebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

12 Solomon became the ruler/king [MTY] to take the place of his father David and took control of all of the kingdom.

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

13 [One day] Adonijah came to Solomon’s mother Bathsheba. She said to him, “Have you come because you want things to go well?” He replied, “Yes.”

And Adonias the son of Aggith came in to Bersabee the mother of Solomon, and did obeisance to her: and she said, Do you enter peaceably? and he said, Peaceably:

14 But then he said, “I have something to ask you to do.” She said, “Tell me [what you want me to do].”

I have business with you. And she said to him, Say on.

15 He said, “You know that all the Israeli people expected me to be their king [because I am David’s oldest surviving son]. But that did not happen. Instead, my [younger] brother became king, because that is what Yahweh wanted.

And he said to her, You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel turned their face towards me for a king; but the kingdom was turned [from me] and became my brother's: for it was [appointed] to him from the Lord.

16 Now I have one thing that I ask you to do. Please do not refuse to do it.” She replied, “Tell me [what you want me to do].”

And now I make one request of you, do not turn away your face. And Bersabee said to him, Speak [on].

17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon to give to me Abishag, the woman from Shunem [town], to be my wife. [I am sure that] he will not refuse.”

And he said to her, Speak, I pray you, to king Solomon, for he will not turn away his face from you, and let him give me Abisag the Somanite for a wife.

18 Bathsheba replied, “Okay, I will speak to the king for you.”

And Bersabee said, Well; I will speak for you to the king.

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to tell him what Adonijah wanted. The king got up [from his throne] and went to greet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne again and asked someone to bring a chair for her. So she sat down at the king’s right side.

And Bersabee went in to king Solomon to speak to him concerning Adonias; and the king rose up to meet her, and kissed her, and sat on the throne, and a throne was set for the mother of the king, and she sat on his right hand.

20 Then she said, “I have one small thing which I want you to do; please do not say that you will not do it.” The king replied, “Mother, what do you want? I will not refuse you.”

And she said to him, I ask of you one little request; turn not away my face from you. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, and I will not reject you.

21 She said, “Allow Abishag to be given to your [older] brother Adonijah to be his wife.”

And she said, Let, I pray you, Abisag the Somanite be given to Adonias your brother to wife.

22 The king replied [angrily], “What? Are you requesting me to give Abishag to Adonijah? [Does he want me] to allow him to rule the kingdom, too? Because he is my older brother, [does he think that he should be the king]? Does he think that Abiathar should be the priest [instead of Zadok], and that Joab [should be the army commander instead of Benaiah] because they supported him [when he tried to become the king]?”

And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why have you asked Abisag for Adonias? ask for him the kingdom also; for he [is] my elder brother, and he has for his companion Abiathar the priest, and Joab the son of Saruia the commander-in-chief.

23 Then Solomon solemnly promised, requesting Yahweh to listen, “I wish God would strike me and kill me if I do not cause Adonijah to be executed for requesting this!

And king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, [if it be not] that Adonias has spoken this word against his own life.

24 Yahweh has appointed me to be the king and placed me here to rule [MTY] as my father David did. He has promised that my descendants [MTY] will be the kings of Israel. So just as surely as Yahweh lives, I solemnly promise that Adonijah will be executed today!”

And now [as] the Lord lives who has established me, and set me on the throne of my father David, and he has made me a house, as the Lord spoke, this day shall Adonias be put to death.

25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah to [go and] kill Adonijah, and Benaiah did that.

So king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaeas the son of Jodae, and he killed him, and Adonias died in that day.

26 Then Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth [town], to your land there. You deserve to be killed, but I will not execute you now, because you were the one who [supervised the men who] carried Yahweh’s Sacred Chest for David my father, and you endured all the troubles that my father endured.”

And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Depart you quickly to Anathoth to your farm, for you are worthy of death this day; but I will not kill you, because you have borne the ark of the covenant of the Lord before my father, and because you was afflicted in all things wherein my father was afflicted.

27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being the priest of Yahweh. By doing that he caused to happen what Yahweh had said [many years previously] at Shiloh, [that some day he would get rid] of the descendants [MTY] of Eli.

And Solomon removed Abiathar from being a priest of the Lord, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke concerning the house of Heli in Selom.

28 Joab had not supported Absalom [when he tried to become the king], but he had supported Adonijah. So when Joab heard what had happened, he ran to the Sacred Tent, and he grasped the projections on the corners of the altar, [because he knew that no one would kill him there].

And the report came to Joab son of Saruia; for Joab had turned after Adonias, and he went not after Solomon: and Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold of the horns of the altar.

29 When someone told Solomon that Joab had run to the Sacred Tent and was standing alongside the altar, Solomon told Benaiah, “Go and execute Joab.”

And it was told Solomon, saying, Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and behold! he has hold of the horns of the altar. And king Solomon sent to Joab, saying, What ails you, that you have fled to the altar? and Joab said, Because I was afraid of you, and fled for refuge to the Lord. And Solomon sent Banaeas son of Jodae, saying, Go and kill him, and bury him.

30 So Benaiah went to the Sacred Tent and said to Joab, “The king commands you to come out!” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah went back to the king and reported [what he had said to Joab, and] what Joab had replied.

And Banaeas son of Jodae came to Joab to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. And Joab said, I will not come forth, for I will die here. And Banaeas son of Jodae returned and spoke to the king, saying, Thus has Joab spoken, and thus has he answered me.

31 The king replied to him, “Do what he has requested. Kill him and bury his body. If you do that, my descendants [MTY] and I will no longer be punished for what Joab did when he killed [MTY] two men who (were innocent/had not done anything that is wrong).

And the king said to him, Go, and do to him as he has spoken, and kill him: and you shall bury him, and you shall remove this day the blood which he shed without cause, from me and from the house of my father.

32 But Yahweh will punish [MTY] Joab for attacking and killing Abner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the commander of the army of Judah, two men who were more righteous and better [DOU] men than he is. My father David did not even know that Joab [was planning to murder them].

And the Lord has returned upon his own head the blood of his unrighteousness, inasmuch as he attacked two men more righteous and better than himself, and killed them with the sword, and my father David knew not of their blood, [even] Abenner the son of Ner the commander-in-chief of Israel, and Amessa the son of Jether the commander-in-chief of Juda.

33 Joab and his descendants will be punished [IDM] forever for his murdering Abner and Amasa. But things will forever go well for David’s descendants [MTY] who rule [MTY] as King David did.”

And their blood is returned upon his head, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, may there be peace for ever from the Lord.

34 So Benaiah went [into the Sacred Tent] and killed Joab. Joab was buried on his property in the desert [part of Judah].

So Banaeas son of Jodae went up, and attacked him, and killed him, and buried him in his house in the wilderness.

35 Then the king appointed Benaiah to be the commander of the army instead of Joab, and he appointed Zadok to be the priest instead of Abiathar.

And the king appointed Banaeas son of Jodae in his place over the host; and the kingdom was established in Jerusalem; and [as for] Sadoc the priest, the king appointed him to be high priest in the room of Abiathar. And Solomon son of David reigned over Israel and Juda in Jerusalem: and the Lord gave understanding to Solomon, and very much wisdom, and largeness of heart, as the sand by the sea-shore.

36 Then the king sent [a messenger] to summon Shimei, and the king said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Remain there and do not leave the city to go anywhere.

37 Be sure that the day that you leave Jerusalem and go across the Kidron Brook, you will be executed, and it will be (your own fault/what you deserve).”

38 Shimei replied, “Your Majesty, what you say is good. I will do what you have said.” So Shimei remained in Jerusalem for several years.

39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away. They went to stay with Maacah’s son Achish, the king of Gath [city]. When someone told Shimei that they were in Gath,

40 he put a saddle on his donkey and [got on it and] went to Gath. He found his slaves staying with King Achish and brought them back home.

41 But someone told King Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned.

42 So the king sent [a soldier] to summon Shimei and said to him, “I told you to solemnly promise, knowing that Yahweh [MTY] was listening, that you must not leave Jerusalem. I told you [RHQ], ‘Be sure that if you ever leave Jerusalem, you will be executed.’ And you replied [RHQ] to me, ‘What you have said is good; I will do what you have said.’

43 So why did you not do what you solemnly promised to Yahweh? Why did you disobey what I commanded you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the evil things that you did to my father David. So Yahweh will now punish you for the evil things that you did.

45 But Yahweh will bless me, and he will enable David’s descendants [MTY] to rule forever.”

46 Then the king gave an order to Benaiah, and he went and killed Shimei. So Solomon was completely in control of the kingdom.