Chapter 2

David’s Charge to Solomon

1 As David’s 1atime to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

2 “aI am going the way of all the earth. bBe strong, therefore, and 1show yourself a man.

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

4 so that athe Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘bIf your sons are careful of their way, cto walk before Me in 1truth with all their heart and with all their soul, 2dyou shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Now you also know what Joab the ason of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to bAbner the son of Ner, and to cAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also 1shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt 2about his waist, and on his sandals 3on his feet.

6 “aSo act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to 1Sheol in peace.

7 “But ashow kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and blet them be among those who eat at your table; cfor they 1assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

8 “Behold, athere is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a 1violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when bhe came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

9 “Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, afor you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to 1Sheol with blood.”

Death of David

10 Then aDavid slept with his fathers and was buried in bthe city of David.

11 aThe days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: bseven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.

12 And aSolomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “aDo you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.”

14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.”

15 So he said, “You know that athe kingdom was mine and bthat all Israel 1expected me to be king; chowever, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, dfor it was his from the Lord.

16 “Now I am making one request of you; do not 1refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.”

17 Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not 1refuse you, that he may give me aAbishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

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

Adonijah Executed

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he ahad a throne set for the king’s mother, and bshe sat on his right.

20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; ado not 1refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not 2refuse you.”

21 So she said, “aLet Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”

22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? aAsk for him also the kingdom—bfor he is my older brother—even for him, for cAbiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!”

23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has anot spoken this word against his own 1life.

24 “Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and awho has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.”

25 So King Solomon asent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “aGo to Anathoth to your own field, bfor you 1deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because cyou carried the ark of the Lord 2God before my father David, and because dyou were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.”

27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill athe word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Executed

28 Now the news came to Joab, afor Joab had followed Adonijah, balthough he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and ctook hold of the horns of the altar.

29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon asent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “bGo, fall upon him.”

30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.”

31 The king said to him, “aDo as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, bthat you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause.

32 “aThe Lord will return his blood on his own head, bbecause he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: cAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and dAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

33 “aSo shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his 1descendants forever; but to David and his 1descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.”

34 Then aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house bin the wilderness.

35 aThe king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed bZadok the priest cin the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

36 Now the king sent and called for aShimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place.

37 “For on the day you go out and across over the 1brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; byour blood shall be on your own head.”

38 Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away ato Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”

40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.

42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’

43 “Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I 1have laid on you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “aYou know all the evil which 1you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore bthe Lord shall return your evil on your own head.

45 “But King Solomon shall be blessed, and athe throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”

46 aSo the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

bThus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.