< I Regum 2 >
1 adpropinquaverant autem dies David ut moreretur praecepitque Salomoni filio suo dicens
As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon,
2 ego ingredior viam universae terrae confortare et esto vir
“I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man.
3 et observa custodias Domini Dei tui ut ambules in viis eius et custodias caerimonias eius et praecepta eius et iudicia et testimonia sicut scriptum est in lege Mosi ut intellegas universa quae facis et quocumque te verteris
And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn,
4 ut confirmet Dominus sermones suos quos locutus est de me dicens si custodierint filii tui viam suam et ambulaverint coram me in veritate in omni corde suo et in omni anima sua non auferetur tibi vir de solio Israhel
and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 tu quoque nosti quae fecerit mihi Ioab filius Sarviae quae fecerit duobus principibus exercitus Israhel Abner filio Ner et Amasa filio Iether quos occidit et effudit sanguinem belli in pace et posuit cruorem proelii in balteo suo qui erat circa lumbos eius et in calciamento suo quod erat in pedibus eius
Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
6 facies ergo iuxta sapientiam tuam et non deduces canitiem eius pacifice ad inferos (Sheol )
So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. (Sheol )
7 sed et filiis Berzellai Galaaditis reddes gratiam eruntque comedentes in mensa tua occurrerunt enim mihi quando fugiebam a facie Absalom fratris tui
But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 habes quoque apud te Semei filium Gera filii Iemini de Baurim qui maledixit mihi maledictione pessima quando ibam ad Castra sed quia descendit mihi in occursum cum transirem Iordanem et iuravi ei per Dominum dicens non te interficiam gladio
Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’
9 tu noli pati esse eum innoxium vir autem sapiens es et scies quae facias ei deducesque canos eius cum sanguine ad infernum (Sheol )
Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” (Sheol )
10 dormivit igitur David cum patribus suis et sepultus est in civitate David
Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
11 dies autem quibus regnavit David super Israhel quadraginta anni sunt in Hebron regnavit septem annis in Hierusalem triginta tribus
The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
12 Salomon autem sedit super thronum David patris sui et firmatum est regnum eius nimis
So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 et ingressus est Adonias filius Aggith ad Bethsabee matrem Salomonis quae dixit ei pacificusne ingressus tuus qui respondit pacificus
Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied.
14 addiditque sermo mihi est ad te cui ait loquere et ille
Then he said, “I have something to tell you.” “Say it,” she answered.
15 tu inquit nosti quia meum erat regnum et me proposuerat omnis Israhel sibi in regem sed translatum est regnum et factum est fratris mei a Domino enim constitutum est ei
“You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD.
16 nunc ergo petitionem unam deprecor a te ne confundas faciem meam quae dixit ad eum loquere
So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him.
17 et ille ait precor ut dicas Salomoni regi neque enim negare tibi quicquam potest ut det mihi Abisag Sunamitin uxorem
Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
18 et ait Bethsabee bene ego loquar pro te regi
“Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19 venit ergo Bethsabee ad regem Salomonem ut loqueretur ei pro Adonia et surrexit rex in occursum eius adoravitque eam et sedit super thronum suum positus quoque est thronus matri regis quae sedit ad dexteram eius
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.
20 dixitque ei petitionem unam parvulam ego deprecor a te ne confundas faciem meam dixit ei rex pete mater mi neque enim fas est ut avertam faciem tuam
“I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.” “Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.”
21 quae ait detur Abisag Sunamitis Adoniae fratri tuo uxor
So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
22 responditque rex Salomon et dixit matri suae quare postulas Abisag Sunamitin Adoniae postula ei et regnum ipse est enim frater meus maior me et habet Abiathar sacerdotem et Ioab filium Sarviae
King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
23 iuravit itaque rex Salomon per Dominum dicens haec faciat mihi Deus et haec addat quia contra animam suam locutus est Adonias verbum hoc
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
24 et nunc vivit Dominus qui firmavit me et conlocavit super solium David patris mei et qui fecit mihi domum sicut locutus est quia hodie occidetur Adonias
And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
25 misitque rex Salomon per manum Banaiae filii Ioiadae qui interfecit eum et mortuus est
So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
26 Abiathar quoque sacerdoti dixit rex vade in Anathot ad agrum tuum es quidem vir mortis sed hodie te non interficiam quia portasti arcam Domini Dei coram David patre meo et sustinuisti laborem in omnibus in quibus laboravit pater meus
Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”
27 eiecit ergo Salomon Abiathar ut non esset sacerdos Domini ut impleretur sermo Domini quem locutus est super domum Heli in Silo
So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.
28 venit autem nuntius ad Ioab quod Ioab declinasset post Adoniam et post Absalom non declinasset fugit ergo Ioab in tabernaculum Domini et adprehendit cornu altaris
When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
29 nuntiatumque est regi Salomoni quod fugisset Ioab in tabernaculum Domini et esset iuxta altare misitque Salomon Banaiam filium Ioiadae dicens vade interfice eum
It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!”
30 venit Banaias ad tabernaculum Domini et dixit ei haec dicit rex egredere qui ait non egrediar sed hic moriar renuntiavit Banaias regi sermonem dicens haec locutus est Ioab et haec respondit mihi
And Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.”
31 dixitque ei rex fac sicut locutus est et interfice eum et sepeli et amovebis sanguinem innocentem qui effusus est a Ioab a me et a domo patris mei
And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed.
32 et reddat Dominus sanguinem eius super caput eius quia interfecit duos viros iustos melioresque se et occidit eos gladio patre meo David ignorante Abner filium Ner principem militiae Israhel et Amasa filium Iether principem exercitus Iuda
The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.
33 et revertetur sanguis illorum in caput Ioab et in caput seminis eius in sempiternum David autem et semini eius et domui et throno illius sit pax usque in aeternum a Domino
Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”
34 ascendit itaque Banaias filius Ioiadae et adgressus eum interfecit sepultusque est in domo sua in deserto
So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness.
35 et constituit rex Banaiam filium Ioiadae pro eo super exercitum et Sadoc sacerdotem posuit pro Abiathar
And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.
36 misit quoque rex et vocavit Semei dixitque ei aedifica tibi domum in Hierusalem et habita ibi et non egredieris inde huc atque illuc
Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.
37 quacumque autem die egressus fueris et transieris torrentem Cedron scito te interficiendum sanguis tuus erit super caput tuum
On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
38 dixitque Semei regi bonus sermo sicut locutus est dominus meus rex sic faciet servus tuus habitavit itaque Semei in Hierusalem diebus multis
“The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39 factum est autem post annos tres ut fugerent servi Semei ad Achis filium Maacha regem Geth nuntiatumque est Semei quod servi eius essent in Geth
After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
40 et surrexit Semei et stravit asinum suum ivitque in Geth ad Achis ad requirendos servos suos et adduxit eos de Geth
So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.
41 nuntiatum est autem Salomoni quod isset Semei in Geth de Hierusalem et redisset
When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned,
42 et mittens vocavit eum dixitque illi nonne testificatus sum tibi per Dominum et praedixi tibi quacumque die egressus ieris huc et illuc scito te esse moriturum et respondisti mihi bonus sermo audivi
the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’
43 quare ergo non custodisti iusiurandum Domini et praeceptum quod praeceperam tibi
So why have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the command that I gave you?”
44 dixitque rex ad Semei tu nosti omne malum cuius tibi conscium est cor tuum quod fecisti David patri meo reddidit Dominus malitiam tuam in caput tuum
The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the LORD will bring your evil back upon your head.
45 et rex Salomon benedictus et thronus David erit stabilis coram Domino usque in sempiternum
But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.”
46 iussit itaque rex Banaiae filio Ioiadae qui egressus percussit eum et mortuus est
Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.