1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he
charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I
go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 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:
4 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.
5 Moreover
thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what
he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner,
and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in
peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about
his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
6 Do
therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the
grave in peace.
7 But
shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of
those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of
Absalom thy brother.
8 And,
behold, thou hast with
thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a
grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me
at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death
with the sword.
9 Now
therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou
oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with
blood.
10 So
David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
11 And
the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in
Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
12 Then
sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was
established greatly.
13 And
Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she
said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
14 He
said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
15 And
he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all
Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is
turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD.
16 And
now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
17 And
he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee
nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.
18 And
Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.
19 Bathsheba
therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king
rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne,
and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.
20 Then
she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto
her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
21 And
she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
22 And
king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag
the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine
elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son
of Zeruiah.
23 Then
king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if
Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
24 Now
therefore, as the
LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my
father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to
death this day.
25 And
king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon
him that he died.
26 And
unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own
fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at
this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before
David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father
was afflicted.
27 So
Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might
fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in
Shiloh.
28 Then
tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not
after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold
on the horns of the altar.
29 And
it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD;
and, behold, he is by
the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon
him.
30 And
Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the
king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought
the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
31 And
the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him;
that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and
from the house of my father.
32 And
the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more
righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not
knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the
host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
33 Their
blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his
seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon
his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.
34 So
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he
was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35 And
the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok
the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
36 And
the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in
Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
37 For
it shall be, that on
the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for
certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
38 And
Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said,
so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39 And
it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei
ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying,
Behold, thy servants be in Gath.
40 And
Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his
servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
41 And
it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come
again.
42 And
the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to
swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the
day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die?
and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.
43 Why
then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have
charged thee with?
44 The
king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart
is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall
return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
45 And
king Solomon shall be blessed,
and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
46 So
the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon
him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
