¹⁶^*At the same time the Benjaminite Shimei son of Gera from Bahurim hurried to the Jordan to meet King David. ¹⁷He had with him a thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of Saul’s family, also came with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, and they arrived at the Jordan before the king. ¹⁸They crossed^c the river to escort the royal party across and to do whatever the king wanted.

David Shows Kindness to Shimei

As the king was getting ready to cross, Shimei threw himself down in front of him ¹⁹and said, “Your Majesty, please forget the wrong I did that day you left Jerusalem. Don’t hold it against me or think about it any more. ²⁰I know, sir, that I have sinned, and this is why I am the first one from the northern tribes to come and meet Your Majesty today.”

²¹Abishai son of Zeruiah spoke up: “Shimei should be put to death because he cursed the one whom the Lord chose as king.”

²²But David said to Abishai and his brother Joab, “Who asked your opinion? Are you going to give me trouble? I am the one who is king of Israel now, and no Israelite will be put to death today.” ²³And he said to Shimei, “I give you my word that you will not be put to death.”

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Footnotes

cProbable text They crossed; Hebrew The crossing crossed.

Cross references

*19.16: 2 S 16:5–13