1Ki 2 | NASB1995 | STEP | As David’s time to die drew near , he charged Solomon his son , saying ,

‏ 1 Kings 2

David’s Charge to Solomon

1 As David’s ^{▼▼ Lit days
,} ^btime to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 ^c“I am going the way of all the earth. ^dBe strong, therefore, and ^{▼▼ Lit become a man}show yourself a man. 3 “Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, ^faccording to what is written in the Law of Moses, that ^gyou may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 so that ^hthe Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘ ⁱIf your sons are careful of their way, ^jto walk before Me in ^{▼▼ Or faithfulness}truth with all their heart and with all their soul, ^{▼▼ Lit there shall not be cast off to you a man from before Me
,} ^myou shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Now you also know what Joab the ⁿson of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to ^oAbner the son of Ner, and to ^pAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also ^{▼▼ Lit made}shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt ^{▼▼ Lit that was about}about his waist, and on his sandals ^{▼▼ Lit that were on}on his feet. 6 ^t“So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to ^{▼▼ I.e. the nether world}Sheol in peace. 7 “But ^vshow kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and ^wlet them be among those who eat at your table; ^xfor they ^{▼▼ Lit came near to}assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 “Behold, ^zthere is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a ^{▼▼ Or grievous}violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when ^abhe came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 “Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, ^acfor you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to ^{▼▼ I.e. the nether world}Sheol with blood.”

Death of David

10 Then ^aeDavid slept with his fathers and was buried in ^afthe city of David. 11 ^agThe days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: ^ahseven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 12 And ^aiSolomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, ^aj“Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15 So he said, “You know that ^akthe kingdom was mine and ^althat all Israel ^{▼▼ Lit set their faces on me}expected me to be king; ^anhowever, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, ^aofor it was his from the Lord. 16 “Now I am making one request of you; do not ^{▼▼ Lit turn away my face}refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17 Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not ^{▼▼ Lit turn away your face}refuse you, that he may give me ^arAbishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

Adonijah Executed

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he ^ashad a throne set for the king’s mother, and ^atshe sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; ^audo not ^{▼▼ Lit turn away my face}refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not ^{▼▼ Lit turn away your face}refuse you.” 21 So she said, ^ax“Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ^ayAsk for him also the kingdom— ^azfor he is my older brother— even for him, for ^baAbiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has ^bbnot spoken this word against his own ^{▼▼ Lit soul}life. 24 “Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and ^bdwho has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon ^besent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, ^bf“Go to Anathoth to your own field, ^bgfor you ^{▼▼ Lit are a man of death}deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because ^biyou carried the ark of the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God before my father David, and because ^bkyou were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill ^blthe word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Executed

28 Now the news came to Joab, ^bmfor Joab had followed Adonijah, ^bnalthough he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and ^botook hold of the horns of the altar. 29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon ^bpsent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, ^bq“Go, fall upon him.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king said to him, ^br“Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, ^bsthat you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 32 ^bt“The Lord will return his blood on his own head, ^bubecause he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: ^bvAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^bwAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 ^bx“So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants forever; but to David and his ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34 Then ^caBenaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house ^cbin the wilderness. 35 ^ccThe king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed ^cdZadok the priest ^cein the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

36 Now the king sent and called for ^cfShimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37 “For on the day you go out and ^cgcross over the ^{▼▼ Or wadi}brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; ^ciyour blood shall be on your own head.” 38 Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away ^cjto Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” 40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ 43 “Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I ^{▼▼ Lit commanded}have laid on you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, ^cl“You know all the evil which ^{▼▼ Lit your heart acknowledges}you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore ^cnthe Lord shall return your evil on your own head. 45 “But King Solomon shall be blessed, and ^cothe throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46 ^cpSo the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

^cqThus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.