1 Reis 2

¹ Now the days of David drew near that he should die. And he charged Solomon his son, saying,

² I am going the way of all the earth. Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man,

³ and keep the charge of LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, [and] his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou may prosper in all t

⁴ That LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons 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 a man on the throne of Is

⁵ Moreover thou also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in pea

⁶ Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and do not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.

⁷ But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at thy table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom thy brother.

⁸ And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by LORD, sayin

⁹ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for thou are a wise man, and thou will know what thou ought to do to him, and thou shall bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

¹⁰ And 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. He reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

¹² And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.

¹³ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Do thou come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

¹⁴ He said moreover, I have something to say to thee. And she said, Say on.

¹⁵ And he said, Thou know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother's, for it was his from LORD.

¹⁶ And now I ask one petition of thee; do not deny me. And she said to him, Say on.

¹⁷ And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king (for he will not say no thee), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

¹⁸ And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee to the king.

¹⁹ Bathsheba therefore went to king Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother. And she sat on his

²⁰ Then she said, I ask one small petition of thee; do not deny me. And the king said to her, Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny thee.

²¹ And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.

²² And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why do thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother, even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of

²³ Then king Solomon swore by LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.

²⁴ Now therefore as LORD lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

²⁵ And king Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him so that he died.

²⁶ And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Get thee to Anathoth, to thine own fields, for thou are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou bore the ark of lord LORD before David my father, and be

²⁷ So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to LORD, that he might fulfill the word of LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸ And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he did not turn after Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

²⁹ And it was told king Solomon, Joab has fled to the tent of 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 tent of LORD, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. And he said, No, 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 to him, Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him, that thou may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father's house.

³² And LORD will return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know it, [namely], Abner the son of Ner, captain of the a

³³ So shall their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed forever. But to David, and to his seed, and to his house, and to his throne, there shall be peace forever from LORD.

³⁴ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and killed 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 army. And the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

³⁶ And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth from there anywhere.

³⁷ For on the day thou go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know thou for certain that thou shall surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

³⁸ And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good. As my lord the king has 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 to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants are in Gath.

⁴⁰ And Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, 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 to him, Did I not adjure thee by LORD, and protest to thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou go out, and walk abroad anywhere, thou shall surely die? And thou said to

⁴³ Why then have thou not kept the oath of LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?

⁴⁴ The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou know all the iniquity which thy heart is privy to, what thou did to David my father. Therefore LORD shall return thy iniquity upon thine own head.

⁴⁵ But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before LORD forever.

⁴⁶ So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And he went out, and fell upon him so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.