Loading…

1 Kings 2:1–4

David’s Instructions to Solomon

2 Now athe days of David drew near that he should die, and he 1charged Solomon his son, saying: b“I go the way of all the earth; cbe strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may dprosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord may efulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, f‘If your sons take heed to their way, to gwalk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, h‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

Read more Explain verse



1 Kings 2:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)

When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — English Standard Version (ESV)

When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to 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 whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children 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 (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

1 Kings 2:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)

As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

“I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)

Since it was almost time for David to die, he gave his son Solomon his last commands. David said, “My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. Obey the Lord your God. Follow him by obeying his demands, his commands, his laws, and his rules that are written in the teachings of Moses. If you do these things, you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. And if you obey the Lord, he will keep the promise he made to me. He said: ‘If your descendants live as I tell them and have complete faith in me, a man from your family will always be king over the people of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of Jehovah 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 mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; that Jehovah may establish his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children 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 (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

1 Kings 2:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And the days of David were at hand that he should die; and he enjoined Solomon his son saying, I go the way of all the earth: be of good courage therefore, and be a man; and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; that Jehovah may confirm 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, said he, a man upon the throne of Israel.

1 Kings 2:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

When David was about to die, he instructed his son Solomon, “I’m about to leave this world. Be strong and mature. Fulfill your duty to the Lord your God. Obey his directions, laws, commands, rules, and written instructions as they are recorded in Moses’ Teachings. Then you’ll succeed in everything you do wherever you may go. ⸤You’ll succeed⸥ because the Lord will keep the promise he made to me: ‘If your descendants are faithful to me with all their hearts and lives, you will never fail to have an heir on the throne of Israel.’ 

1 Kings 2:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

As the time approached for David to die, he instructed his son Solomon, “As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth. Be strong and be courageous like a man, and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn, and so that the Lord will carry out His promise that He made to me: ‘If your sons are careful to walk faithfully before Me with their whole mind and heart, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: ‘If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

The days of David came near for him to die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the world. Be strong and be courageous. You shall keep the charge of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his testimonies, as are written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and everywhere you turn, so that Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed of their way, to walk before me in faithfulness, with all their heart and with all their soul, no man of yours will be cut off from the throne of Israel.’ ”

1 Kings 2:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

The time came near for David to die. So he gave orders to his son Solomon. He said,

“I’m about to die, just as everyone else on earth does. So be strong. Show how brave you are. Do everything the Lord your God requires. Live the way he wants you to. Obey his orders and commands. Keep his laws and rules. Do everything that is written in the Law of Moses. Then you will have success in everything you do. You will succeed everywhere you go.

“The Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He said, ‘Your sons must be careful about how they live. They must be faithful to me with all their heart and soul. Then you will always have a man sitting on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1–4 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.

Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,

so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’


A service of Logos Bible Software