1 Kings 2–3

David’s Instructions to Solomon

2ⁿWhen David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, ^2o“I am about to go the way of all the earth. ^pBe strong, and show yourself a man, ³and 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, ^qthat you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴that the Lord may ^restablish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ^s‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, ^tto walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, ^uyou shall not lack¹ a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁵“Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah ^vdid to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, ^wAbner the son of Ner, ^xand Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging² in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war³ on the belt around his⁴ waist and on the sandals on his feet. ⁶Act therefore ^yaccording to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. ⁷But deal loyally with the sons of ^zBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be ^aamong those who eat at your table, ^bfor with such loyalty⁵ they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. ⁸And there is also with you ^cShimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day ^dwhen I went to Mahanaim. ^eBut when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ ⁹Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, ^ffor you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall ^gbring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”

The Death of David

^10hThen David slept with his fathers and was buried in ⁱthe city of David. ¹¹And the time that David reigned over Israel was ^jforty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ^12kSo Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

Solomon’s Reign Established

¹³Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, ^l“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” ¹⁴Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” ¹⁵He said, “You know that ^mthe kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, ⁿfor it was his from the Lord. ¹⁶And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” ¹⁷And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me ^oAbishag the Shunammite as my wife.” ¹⁸Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”

¹⁹So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, ^pand she sat on his right. ²⁰Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” ²¹She said, “Let ^oAbishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” ²²King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask ^oAbishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, ^qfor he is my older brother, and on his side ^rare Abiathar⁶ the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” ²³Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, ^s“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! ²⁴Now therefore ^tas the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, ^uas he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” ²⁵So King Solomon sent ^vBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.

²⁶And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to ^wAnathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, ^xbecause you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, ^yand because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” ^27zSo Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling ^athe word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸When the news came to Joab—for Joab ^bhad supported Adonijah although ^che had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the ^dhorns of the altar. ²⁹And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” ³¹The king replied to him, ^e“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, ^fand thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. ³²The Lord will ^gbring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men ^hmore righteous and better than himself, ⁱAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^jAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ^33gSo shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” ³⁴Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ^35kThe king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put ^lZadok the priest ^min the place of Abiathar.

³⁶Then the king sent and summoned ⁿShimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. ³⁷For on the day you go out and cross ^othe brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. ^pYour blood shall be on your own head.” ³⁸And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to ^qAchish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” ⁴⁰Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. ⁴¹And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, ⁴²the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ ⁴³Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” ⁴⁴The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart ^rall the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will ^sbring back your harm on your own head. ⁴⁵But King Solomon shall be blessed, ^tand the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” ⁴⁶Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.

^uSo the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

3^vSolomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into ^wthe city of David until he had finished ^xbuilding his own house ^yand the house of the Lord ^zand the wall around Jerusalem. ^2aThe people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

³Solomon ^bloved the Lord, ^cwalking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. ⁴And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, ^dfor that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ^5eAt Gibeon ^fthe Lord appeared to Solomon ^gin a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” ⁶And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because ^hhe walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and ⁱhave given him a son to sit on his throne this day. ⁷And now, O Lord my God, ^jyou have made your servant king in place of David my father, ^kalthough I am but a little child. I do not know ^lhow to go out or come in. ^8mAnd your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, ⁿtoo many to be numbered or counted for multitude. ^9oGive your servant therefore an understanding mind ^pto govern your people, that I may ^qdiscern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

¹⁰It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, ¹²behold, ^rI now do according to your word. Behold, ^sI give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. ^13tI give you also what you have not asked, ^uboth riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. ¹⁴And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, ^vas your father David walked, then ^wI will lengthen your days.”

¹⁵And Solomon ^xawoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before…