David’s Instructions to Solomon
1 Nowthe days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying:
2 “I go the way of all the earth;be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.
3 And keep the charge of theLordyour God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you mayprosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;
4 that theLordmayfulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying,‘If your sons take heed to their way, towalk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said,‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiahdid to me,andwhat he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, toAbner the son of Ner andAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt thatwasaround his waist, and on his sandals thatwereon his feet.
6 Therefore doaccording to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons ofBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those whoeat at your table, for sothey came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8 “And see,youhavewith youShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. Buthe came down to meet me at the Jordan, andI swore to him by theLord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9 Now therefore,do not hold him guiltless, for youarea wise man and know what you ought to do to him; butbring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
Death of David
10 SoDavid rested with his fathers, and was buried inthe City of David.
11 The period that Davidreigned over Israelwasforty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.
12 Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom wasfirmly established.
Solomon Executes Adonijah
13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said,“Do you come peaceably?”
And he said, “Peaceably.”
14 Moreover he said, “I have somethingtosayto you.”
And she said, “Say it.”
15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom wasmine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; forit was his from theLord.
16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.”
And she said to him, “Say it.”
17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give meAbishag the Shunammite as wife.”
18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her andbowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother;so she sat at his right hand.
20 Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me.”
And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for heismyolder brother—for him, and forAbiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
23 Then King Solomon swore by theLord, saying,“May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
24 Now therefore,astheLordlives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a house for me, as Hepromised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
25 So King Solomon sent by the hand ofBenaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go toAnathoth, to your own fields, for youaredeserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time,because you carried the ark of the LordGodbefore my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.”
27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to theLord, that he mightfulfill the word of theLordwhich He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28 Then news came to Joab, for Joabhad defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of theLord, andtook hold of the horns of the altar.
29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of theLord; thereheis,by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go,strike him down.”
30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of theLord, and said to him, “Thus says the king,‘Come out!’ ”
And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31 Then the king said to him,“Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him,that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed.
32 So theLordwill return his blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteousand better than he, and killed them with the sword—Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, andAmasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not knowit.
33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab andupon the head of his descendants forever.But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from theLord.”
34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king putZadok the priest in the place ofAbiathar.
Shimei Executed
36 Then the king sent and called forShimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere.
37 For it shall be, on the day you go out and crossthe Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die;your blood shall be on your own head.”
38 And Shimei said to the king, “The sayingisgood. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away toAchish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slavesarein Gath!”
40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.
41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.
42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by theLord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heardisgood.’
43 Why then have you not kept the oath of theLordand the commandment that I gave you?”
44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges,all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore theLordwillreturn your wickedness on your own head.
45 But King Solomonshallbeblessed, andthe throne of David shall be established before theLordforever.”
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus thekingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.