| Chapter
2 |
| 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 show 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
show 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. |
