I Kings Chapter 2

I Kings Chapter 2
1 Then the days of David drew near that
he should die, and he charged Solomon
his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be strong
therefore, and show thyself a man, 3 And
take heed to the charge of the Lord thy
God, to walk in his ways, and keep his
statutes, and his commandments, and his
judgments, and his testimonies, as it is
written in the law of Moses, that thou
mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and
in everything whereunto thou turnest
thee, 4 That the Lord may confirm his
word which he spake unto me, saying, If
thy sons take heed to their way, that they
walk before me in truth, with all their
hearts, and with all their souls, thou shalt
not (said he) want one of thy posterity
upon the throne of Israel.
5 Thou knowest also what Joab the son
of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to
the two captains of the hosts of Israel,
unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto
Amasa the son of Jether: whom he slew,
and shed blood of battle in peace, and
put the blood of war upon his girdle that
was about his loins, and in his shoes that
were on his feet.
6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom,
and let thou not his hoar head go down to
the grave in peace.
7 But show kindness unto the sons of
Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be
among them that eat at thy table: for so
they came to me when I fled from
Absalom thy brother.
8 And behold, with thee is Shimei the
son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, of
Bahurim, which cursed me with an
horrible curse in the day when I went to
Mahanaim: but he came down to meet
me at Jordan, and I swear to him by the
Lord, saying, I will not slay thee with the
sword.
9 But thou shalt not count him innocent:
for thou art a wise man, and knowest
what thou oughtest to do unto him:
therefore thou shalt cause his hoar head
to go down to the grave with blood.
10 So David slept with his fathers, and
was buried in the city of David. 11 And
the days which David reigned upon
Israel, were forty years: seven years
reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and
three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of
David his father, and his kingdom was
stablished mightily.
13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith
came to Bath-sheba the mother of
Solomon: and she said, Comest thou
peaceably? And he said, Yea. 14 He
said moreover, I have a suit unto thee.
And she said, Say on. 15 Then he said,
Thou knowest that the kingdom was
mine, and that all Israel set their faces on
me, that I should reign: howbeit the
kingdom is turned away, and is my
brother's: for it came to him by the Lord.
16 Now therefore I ask thee one request,
refuse me not. And she said unto him,
Say on.
17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto
Solomon the king, (for he will not say
thee nay) that he give me Abishag the
Shunammite to wife.
18 And Bath-sheba said, Well, I will
speak for thee unto the king. 19 Bathsheba
therefore went unto king Solomon,
to speak unto him for Adonijah: and the
king rose to meet her, and bowed
himself unto her, and sat down on his
throne: and he caused a seat to be set for
the king's mother, and she sat at his right
hand.
20 Then she said, I desire a small
request of thee, say me not nay. Then the
king said unto her, Ask on, my mother:
for I will not say thee nay. 21 She said
then, Let Abishag the Shunammite be
given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
22 But king Solomon answered and said
unto his mother, And why dost thou ask
Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah?
Ask for him the kingdom also: for he is
mine elder brother, and hath for him both
Abiathar the priest, and Joab the son of
Zeruiah.
23 Then king Solomon swear by the
Lord, saying, God do so to me and more
also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this
word against his own life. 24 Now
therefore as the Lord liveth, who hath
established me, and set me on the throne
of David my father, who also hath made
me an house, as he promised, Adonijah
shall surely die this day.
25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he
smote him that he died.
26 Then the king said unto Abiathar the
priest, Go to Anathoth unto thine own
fields: for thou art worthy of death: but I
will not this day kill thee, because thou
barest the ark of the Lord God before
David my father, and because thou hast
suffered in all, wherein my father hath
been afflicted.
27 So Solomon cast out Abiathar from
being priest unto the Lord, that he might
fulfill the words of the Lord, which he
spake against the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 Then tidings came to Joab: (for Joab
had turned after Adonijah, but he turned
not after Absalom) and Joab fled unto
the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught
hold on the horns of the altar.
29 And it was told king Solomon, that
Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the
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 tabernacle
of the Lord, and said unto him, Thus
saith the king, Come out. And he said,
Nay, but I will die here. Then Benaiah
brought the king word again, saying,
Thus said Joab, and thus he answered
me.
31 And the King said unto him, Do as he
hath said, and smite him, and bury him,
that thou mayest take away the blood,
which Joab shed causeless, from me and
from the house of my father.
32 And the Lord shall bring his blood
upon his own head: for he smote two
men more righteous and better than he,
and slew them with the sword, and my
father David knew not: to wit, Abner the
son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel,
and Amasa the son of Jether captain of
the host of Judah. 33 Their blood shall
therefore return upon the head of Joab,
and on the head of his seed forever: but
upon David, and upon his seed, and upon
his house, and upon his throne shall there
be peace forever from the Lord. 34 So
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up,
and smote him, and slew 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 host: and
the king set Zadok the priest in the room
of Abiathar.
36 Afterward the king sent, and called
Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an
house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and
depart not thence any whither. 37 For
that day that thou goest out, and passest
over the river of Kidron, know
assuredly, that thou shalt die the death:
thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
38 And Shimei said unto the king, The
thing is good: as my lord the king hath
said, so will thy servant do. So Shimei
dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 39 And
after three years two of the servants of
Shimei fled away unto Achish son of
Maachah king of Gath: and they told
Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be
in Gath.
40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his
ass, 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 Shimei,
and said unto him, Did I not make thee to
swear by the Lord, and protested unto
thee, saying, That day that thou goest out,
and walkest any whither, know
assuredly that thou shalt die the death?
And thou saidest unto me, The thing is
good, that I have heard. 43 Why then
hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord,
and the commandment wherewith I
charged thee?
44 The king said also to Shimei, Thou
knowest all the wickedness whereunto
thine heart is privy, that thou didst to
David my father: the Lord therefore shall
bring thy wickedness upon thine own
head.
45 And let king Solomon be blessed, and
the throne of David stablished before the
Lord forever.
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the
son of Jehoiada: who went out and
smote him that he died. And the kingdom
was established in the hand of Solomon.