1 Kings 2:1–18

David’s Instructions to Solomon

2Now ^athe days of David drew near that he should die, and he ¹charged Solomon his son, saying: ^2b“I go the way of all the earth; ^cbe strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. ³And 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; ⁴that 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.’

⁵“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah ⁱdid to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to ^jAbner the son of Ner and ^kAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. ⁶Therefore do ^laccording to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.

⁷“But show kindness to the sons of ^mBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who ⁿeat at your table, for so ^othey came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

⁸“And see, you have with you ^pShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But ^qhe came down to meet me at the Jordan, and ^rI swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ ⁹Now therefore, ^sdo not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but ^tbring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”

Death of David

¹⁰So ^uDavid ²rested with his fathers, and was buried in ^vthe City of David. ¹¹The period that David ^wreigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. ^12xThen Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was ^yfirmly established.

Solomon Executes Adonijah

¹³Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, ^z“Do you come peaceably?”

And he said, “Peaceably.” ¹⁴Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.”

And she said, “Say it.”

¹⁵Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was ^amine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for ^bit was his from the Lord. ¹⁶Now I ask one petition of you; do not ³deny me.”

And she said to him, “Say it.”

¹⁷Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me ^cAbishag the Shunammite as wife.”

¹⁸So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”