1 Kings 2
1NOW when David’s days drew near that he should die, he spoke to his son Solomon, and said,
2I am going the way of all the earth, be thou therefore strong, and shew thyself a man,
3and keep the watch of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, which are written in the law of Moses; that thou mayest know what thou art to do, according to all that I command thee—
4that the Lord may establish His word which He hath spoken, saying, If thy children take heed to their ways, to walk before Me in truth, with their whole heart, thou shalt not, said He, have a man cut off from the throne of Israel.
5Now thou thyself knowest what Joab, son of Saruia, hath done to me—what he did to the two chiefs of the armies of Israel, to Abenner, son of Ner, and to Amessai, son of Jether. He indeed slew them, and shed the blood of war in peace, and stained, with guiltless blood, the girdle on his loins, and the shoes on his feet.
6Do thou therefore according to thy wisdom, so as not to let his grey hairs go down to the grave in peace.
7But shew kindness to the sons of Berzelli, the Galaadite, and let them eat at thy table; for so they were near me, when I fled from the face of thy brother Abessalom.
8Behold also thou hast with thee Semei, son of Gera, the Jeminite of Baurim. Though he cursed me with a bitter curse on the day when I was marching to Camps, yet he came down to the Jordan to meet me, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
9Now thou art not to hold him guiltless. As thou art a wise man, thou thyself therefore wilt know what to do to him, and wilt bring down his grey hairs to the grave with blood.
10Then David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
11Now all the days which David reigned over Israel were forty years. He reigned seven years at Chebron, and thirty three years at Jerusalem.
12When Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was well established;
13Adonias, son of Aggith, went to Bersabe, the mother of Solomon, and bowed to her. Whereupon she said to him, Is thy coming peaceable? And he said, It is peaceable.
14I have something to say to thee. And she said to him, Say on.
15Then he said to her, Thou knowest that the kingdom belonged to me, and that all Israel looked on me as king. But the kingdom is transferred, and become my brother’s, because it was his from the Lord.
16Now therefore I have a favour to ask of thee, do not refuse it. And Bersabe said to him, Proceed.
17Then he said to her, Speak, I pray thee to Solomon, for he will not refuse thee, that he may give me Abisag, the Somanite, for a wife.
18Thereupon Bersabe said, Well, I will speak to the king for thee.
19So Bersabe went to king Solomon, to speak to him concerning Adonias. And the king arose to meet her, and saluted her, and when he sat down on the throne, there was a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand,
20and said to him, I have a small favour to ask of thee, do not refuse me. And the king said to her, Ask it, my mother, I will not reject thee.
21Then she said, I pray thee, let Abisag, the Somanite, be given to thy brother Adonias for a wife.
22Whereupon king Solomon in reply to his mother, said, But why hast thou asked Abisag for Adonias? Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother, and Abiathar is his priest, and Joab, son of Saruia, his captain general, and his friend.
23Then king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonias hath not spoken this against his own life.
24Now therefore as the Lord liveth, Who hath prepared me, and set me on the throne of my father David, and hath made for me a house, as He hath spoken, Adonias shall this day be put to death.
25So king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaias, son of Jodae, and he slew him. And when Adonias was dead, on the very same day,
26the king said to Abiathar, Begone speedily to thy fields at Anathoth, for thou art this day a condemned man, but I will not put thee to death, because thou didst carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord before my father, and hast shared in all the afflictions with which my father was afflicted.
27So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being the priest of the Lord, so that the word of the Lord was fulfilled, which He spoke against the house of Eli at Selom.
28Now when the news came to Joab, son of Saruia, because he had been of Adonias’ party, and not a follower of Solomon, therefore Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and took hold of the horns of the altar.
29And when they told Solomon, saying, Joab hath fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and behold he hath hold of the horns of the altar, king Solomon sent to Joab, saying, What is the matter with thee, that thou hast fled to the altar? Thereupon Joab said, Because I was afraid of thee, therefore I fled to the Lord.
30Then Solomon sent Banaias, son of Jodae, saying, Go, and kill him, and bury him. So Banaias, son of Jodae, went to Joab, to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, Thus saith the king, Come out. And Joab said, I will not go out, for I will die here. Upon which Banaias, son of Jodae, returned and told the king, saying, Thus did Joab say, and thus he answered me;
31and the king said to him, Go and do to him as he hath spoken. Kill him, and bury him, and take away this day, the blood which he shed without cause, from me and my father’s house.
32The Lord indeed hath turned the blood of his iniquity on his head. Because he fell upon two men more righteous, and better than himself, and slew them with the sword, and my father David knew not of their blood, namely Abenner, son of Ner, the captain general of Israel, and Amessai, son of Jether, the captain general of Juda;
33therefore their blood is returned on his own head, and on the head of his seed forever. But on David, and his seed, and on his house, and his throne, let there be peace from the Lord forever.
34So Banaias, son of Jodae, went up, and fell upon Joab; and when he had slain him, he buried him, at his house in the wilderness;
35and the king set Banaias, son of Jodae, over the army in his stead.
35-editorialNow while David was still alive he gave a charge to Solomon, saying, Behold thou hast with thee Semei, son of Gera, a descendant of the seed of Jemini of Chebron. He cursed me with a bitter curse when I was marching to Camps. But he came down to the Jordan to meet me, therefore I swore to him by the Lord saying, Thou shalt not be put to death with the sword. Now thou art not to hold him guiltless. As thou art a wise man thou thyself therefore wilt know what to do to him, and wilt bring down his grey hairs to the grave with blood.
36Therefore the king sent for Semei, and said to him, Build thyself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and thou shalt not go out thence anywhere.
37For be assured that on the day thou goest out, and crossest the brook Kedron, thou shalt be put to death. Thy blood shall be on thy own head. And the king caused him to take an oath that day.
38And Semei said to the king, Good is the word which thou my lord the king hast spoken. Thy servant will do so.
39Accordingly Semei dwelt in Jerusalem three years. But it happened, that after the three years, two slaves of Semei ran away to Angchus, son of Maacha, king of Geth. And when Semei was told that his slaves were at Geth,
40he arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Geth to Angchus to seek them. And when he had gone, and brought them back from Geth,
41Solomon was informed that Semei had gone from Jerusalem to Geth, and brought back his slaves.
42Upon which the king sent for Semei, and said to him, Did I not adjure thee by the Lord, and protest to thee saying, Be assured that on the day thou goest out of Jerusalem to any place whatever thou shalt surely die?
43Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I enjoined thee?
44Moreover the king said to Semei, Thou knowest all thy wickedness, and thy heart is privy to all that thou didst to my father David, therefore the Lord hath turned thy wickedness on thy own head,
45and king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.
46Then king Solomon gave orders to Banaias, son of Jodae, and he went and slew him. Now the regal government was established at Jerusalem, and the king made Sadok the priest, the first priest, in the room of Abiathar. And Solomon, son of David, reigned over Israel and Juda at Jerusalem.