1 Then the dayes of Dauid drewe neere that he should die, and hee charged Salomon his sonne, saying, 2 I go the way of all the earth: be strong therefore, and shew thy selfe a man, 3 And take heede to the charge of the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, and keepe his statutes, and his commandements, and his iudgements, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and in euery thing whereunto thou turnest thee, 4 That the Lord may confirme his worde which hee spake vnto me, saying, If thy sonnes take heede to their way, that they walke before me in trueth, with all their hearts, and with all their soules, thou shalt not (sayd he) want one of thy posteritie vpon the throne of Israel. 5 Thou knowest also what Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captaines of the hostes of Israel, vnto Abner the sonne of Ner, and vnto Amasa the sonne of Iether: whome he slewe, and shed blood of battell in peace, and put the blood of warre vpon his girdle that was about his loynes, and in his shooes that were on his feete. 6 Doe therefore according to thy wisdome, and let thou not his hoare head go downe to the graue in peace. 7 But shew kindnes vnto the sonnes of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among them that eate at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom thy brother. 8 And beholde, with thee is Shimei the sonne of Gera, the sonne of Iemini, of Bahurim, which cursed mee with an horrible curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but hee came downe to meete me at Iorden, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not slay thee with the sword. 9 But thou shalt not count him innocent: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to doe vnto him: therefore thou shalt cause his hoare head to goe downe to the graue with blood. 10 So Dauid slept with his fathers, and was buried in the citie of Dauid. 11 And the dayes which Dauid reigned vpon Israel, were fourtie yeeres: seuen yeeres reigned he in Hebron, and thirtie and three yeeres reigned he in Ierusalem. 12 Then sate Salomon vpon the throne of Dauid his father, and his kingdome was stablished mightily. 13 And Adonijah the sonne of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Salomon: and she saide, Commest thou peaceably? And hee said, Yea. 14 He said moreouer, I haue a sute vnto thee. And she sayd, Say on. 15 Then he said, Thou knowest that the kingdome was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reigne: howbeit the kingdome is turned away, and is my brothers: for it came to him by the Lord. 16 Nowe therefore I aske thee one request, refuse me not. And she said vnto him, Say on. 17 And he sayd, Speake, I pray thee, vnto Salomon ye King, (for he will not say thee nay) that he giue me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. 18 And Bath-sheba sayd, Well, I will speake for thee vnto the King. 19 Bath-sheba therefore went vnto King Salomon, to speake vnto him for Adonijah: and the King rose to meete her, and bowed himselfe vnto her, and sate downe on his throne: and he caused a seate to be set for the Kings mother, and she sate at his right hand. 20 Then she sayd, I desire a small request of thee, say me not nay. Then the King sayde vnto her, Aske on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay. 21 She sayd then, Let Abishag the Shunammite be giuen to Adonijah thy brother to wife. 22 But King Salomon answered and sayd vnto his mother, And why doest thou aske Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? aske for him the kingdome also: for he is mine elder brother, and hath for him both Abiathar the Priest, and Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah. 23 Then King Salomon sware by the Lord, saying, God doe so to me and more also, if Adoniiah hath not spoken this worde against his owne life. 24 Now therefore as ye Lord liueth, who hath established me, and set me on the throne of Dauid my father, who also hath made me an house, as he promised, Adoniiah shall surely die this day. 25 And King Salomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, and hee smote him that he dyed. 26 Then the King sayd vnto Abiathar the Priest, Go to Anathoth vnto thine owne fieldes: for thou art worthy of death: but I will not this day kill thee, because thou barest the Arke of the Lord God before Dauid my father, and because thou hast suffered in all, wherein my father hath bene afflicted. 27 So Salomon cast out Abiathar from being Priest vnto the Lord, that he might fulfill the wordes of the Lord, which he spake against the house of Eli in Shiloh. 28 Then tidings came to Ioab: (for Ioab had turned after Adoniiah, but he turned not after Absalom) and Ioab fled vnto the Tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the hornes of the altar. 29 And it was tolde king Salomon, that Ioab was fled vnto the Tabernacle of the Lord, and beholde, he is by the altar. Then Salomon sent Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada, saying, Goe, fall vpon him. 30 And Benaiah came to the Tabernacle of the Lord, and sayd vnto him, Thus sayth the King, Come out. And he sayde, Nay, but I will die here. Then Benaiah brought the King worde againe, saying, Thus sayd Ioab, and thus he answered me. 31 And the King sayde vnto him, Doe as he hath sayd, and smite him, and bury him, that thou mayest take away the blood, which Ioab shed causelesse, from me and from the house of my father. 32 And the Lord shall bring his blood vpon his owne head: for he smote two men more righteous and better then he, and slew them with the sword, and my father Dauid knew not: to wit, Abner the sonne of Ner, captaine of the hoste of Israel, and Amasa the sonne of Iether captaine of the hoste of Iudah. 33 Their blood shall therefore returne vpon the head of Ioab, and on the head of his seede for euer: but vpon Dauid, and vpon his seede, and vpon his house, and vpon his throne shall there be peace for euer from the Lord. 34 So Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada went vp, and smote him, and slewe him, and he was buryed in his owne house in the wildernesse. 35 And the King put Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada in his roume ouer the hoste: and the King set Zadok the Priest in the roume of Abiathar. 36 Afterwarde the King sent, and called Shimei, and sayde vnto him, Buylde thee an house in Ierusalem, and dwell there, and depart not thence any whither. 37 For that day that thou goest out, and passest ouer the riuer of Kidron, knowe assuredly, that thou shalt dye the death: thy blood shall be vpon thine owne head. 38 And Shimei sayd vnto the King, The thing is good: as my lord the King hath sayd, so wil thy seruant doe. So Shimei dwelt in Ierusalem many dayes. 39 And after three yeres two of the seruants of Shimei fled away vnto Achish sonne of Maachah King of Gath: and they tolde Shimei, saying, Behold, thy seruants be in Gath. 40 And Shimei arose, and sadled his asse, and went to Gath to Achish, to seeke his seruantes: and Shimei went, and brought his seruants from Gath. 41 And it was tolde Salomon, that Shimei had gone from Ierusalem to Gath, and was come againe. 42 And the King sent and called Shimei, and sayde vnto him, Did I not make thee to sweare by the Lord, and protested vnto thee, saying, That day that thou goest out, and walkest any whither, knowe assuredly that thou shalt dye the death? And thou saydest vnto mee, The thing is good, that I haue heard. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the othe of the Lord, and the commandement wherewith I charged thee? 44 The King sayde also to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickednes whereunto thine heart is priuie, that thou diddest to Dauid my father: the Lord therefore shall bring thy wickednesse vpon thine owne head. 45 And let King Salomon be blessed, and the throne of Dauid stablished before the Lord for euer. 46 So the King comanded Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada: who went out and smote him that he dyed. And the kingdome was established in the hand of Salomon.
David's Last Instructions to Solomon
1 When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: 2 “My time to die has come. Be confident and determined, 3 and do what the Lord your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do. 4 If you obey him, the Lord will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul.
5 “There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men, and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I suffer the consequences. 6 You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and take care of them, because they were kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom.
8 “There is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he met me at the Jordan River, I gave him my solemn promise in the name of the Lord that I would not have him killed. 9 But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death.”
The Death of David
10 David died and was buried in David's City. 11 He had been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 Solomon succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power was firmly established.
The Death of Adonijah
13 Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon's mother. “Is this a friendly visit?” she asked.
“It is,” he answered, 14 and then he added, “I have something to ask of you.”
“What is it?” she asked.
15 He answered, “You know that I should have become king and that everyone in Israel expected it. But it happened differently, and my brother became king because it was the Lord's will. 16 And now I have one request to make; please do not refuse me.”
“What is it?” Bathsheba asked.
17 He answered, “Please ask King Solomon—I know he won't refuse you—to let me have Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, as my wife.”
18 “Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19 So Bathsheba went to the king to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up to greet his mother and bowed to her. Then he sat on his throne and had another one brought in on which she sat at his right. 20 She said, “I have a small favor to ask of you; please do not refuse me.”
“What is it, mother?” he asked. “I will not refuse you.”
21 She answered, “Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as his wife.”
22 “Why do you ask me to give Abishag to him?” the king asked. “You might as well ask me to give him the throne too. After all, he is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab are on his side!” 23 Then Solomon made a solemn promise in the Lord's name, “May God strike me dead if I don't make Adonijah pay with his life for asking this! 24 The Lord has firmly established me on the throne of my father David; he has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my descendants. I swear by the living Lord that Adonijah will die this very day!”
25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Adonijah.
Abiathar's Banishment and Joab's Death
26 Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to your country home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not have you put to death now, for you were in charge of the Lord's Covenant Box while you were with my father David, and you shared in all his troubles.” 27 Then Solomon dismissed Abiathar from serving as a priest of the Lord, and so made come true what the Lord had said in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants.
28 Joab heard what had happened. (He had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the Lord's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar. 29 When the news reached King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tent and was by the altar, Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered that he had fled to the Lord because he was afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent Benaiah to kill Joab. 30 He went to the Tent of the Lord's presence and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out.”
“No,” Joab answered. “I will die here.”
Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.
31 “Do what Joab says,” Solomon answered. “Kill him and bury him. Then neither I nor any other of David's descendants will any longer be held responsible for what Joab did when he killed innocent men. 32 The Lord will punish Joab for those murders, which he committed without my father David's knowledge. Joab killed two innocent men who were better men than he: Abner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, commander of the army of Judah. 33 The punishment for their murders will fall on Joab and on his descendants forever. But the Lord will always give success to David's descendants who sit on his throne.”
34 So Benaiah went to the Tent of the Lord's presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the open country. 35 The king made Benaiah commander of the army in Joab's place and put Zadok the priest in Abiathar's place.
The Death of Shimei
36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and don't leave the city. 37 If you ever leave and go beyond Kidron Brook, you will certainly die—and you yourself will be to blame.”
38 “Very well, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I will do what you say.” So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.
39 Three years later, however, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they were in Gath, 40 he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home. 41 When Solomon heard what Shimei had done, 42 he sent for him and said, “I made you promise in the Lord's name not to leave Jerusalem. And I warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me? 43 Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command? 44 You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The Lord will punish you for it. 45 But he will bless me, and he will make David's kingdom secure forever.”
46 Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.