Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.” New Living Translation But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him.” English Standard Version Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.” Berean Standard Bible Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” King James Bible 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. New King James Version Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.” New American Standard Bible But now do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.” NASB 1995 “Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.” NASB 1977 “Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.” Legacy Standard Bible So now, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.” Amplified Bible But now do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray head down to Sheol [covered] with blood.” Christian Standard Bible So don’t let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” Holman Christian Standard Bible So don’t let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” American Standard Version Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood. Contemporary English Version Now you must punish him. He's an old man, but you're wise enough to know that you must have him killed. English Revised Version Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to the grave with blood. GOD'S WORD® Translation Now, don't let him go unpunished. You are wise and know what to do to him: Put that gray-haired, old man into his grave by slaughtering him." Good News Translation 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." International Standard Version But don't let him off unpunished, since you're a wise man and you'll know what you need to do to him. Find a way that he dies in his old age by shedding his blood." Majority Standard Bible Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” NET Bible But now don't treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death." New Heart English Bible Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood." Webster's Bible Translation Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do to him; but his hoary head do thou bring down to the grave with blood. World English Bible Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionand now, do not acquit him, for you [are] a wise man, and you have known that which you do to him, and have brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.” Young's Literal Translation and now, acquit him not, for a wise man thou art, and thou hast known that which thou dost to him, and hast brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.' Smith's Literal Translation And now thou shalt not let him go unpunished; for thou a wise man, and thou knowest what thou wilt do to him; and bring down his gray hairs with blood to hades. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleDo not thou hold him guiltless. But thou art a wise man, and knowest what to do with him, and thou shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to hell. Catholic Public Domain Version yet do not choose to treat him as if he were innocent. Since you are a wise man, you will know what to do with him. And you shall lead away his grey hair to death with blood.” New American Bible But you must not let him go unpunished. You are wise; you will know what to do to send his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” New Revised Standard Version Therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you must bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.” Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleNow therefore hold him not guiltless; for you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do to him; and bring his folly on his head; and you shall bring down his hoary head with blood to Sheol. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Now you shall not pronounce him innocent, for you are a wise man and know what that you will do to him, and return his foolishness on his head and bring down his old age in blood to Sheol.” OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to the grave with blood.' Brenton Septuagint Translation But thou shalt by no means hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man, and wilt know what thou shalt do to him, and shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context David Instructs Solomon…8Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’ 9Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” Cross References 2 Samuel 19:23 So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore an oath to him. 1 Kings 2:6 So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 2 Samuel 16:5-13 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses. / He threw stones at David and at all the servants of the king, though the troops and all the mighty men were on David’s right and left. / And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed! ... 2 Samuel 3:39 And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!” 2 Samuel 19:21-22 But Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?” / And David replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you, that you should be my adversaries today? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? Am I not indeed aware that today I am king over Israel?” 1 Kings 2:44 The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the LORD will bring your evil back upon your head. 1 Kings 1:52 And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.” 2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 1 Samuel 24:12 May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you. 1 Samuel 26:10 David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. Matthew 10:16 Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Romans 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” Hebrews 10:30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.” Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Treasury of Scripture Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do to him; but his hoar head bring you down to the grave with blood. Judges 5:30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? 1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Psalm 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. Job 9:28 I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. wise 1 Kings 3:12,28 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee… his 1 Kings 2:6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. Genesis 42:38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Genesis 44:31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. with Numbers 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. Jump to Previous Blood Clear Consider Free Goes Grave Gray Guiltless Hair Head Hoar Hoary Hold Innocent Ought Oughtest Punishment Sheol Underworld Unpunished White Wilt WiseJump to Next Blood Clear Consider Free Goes Grave Gray Guiltless Hair Head Hoar Hoary Hold Innocent Ought Oughtest Punishment Sheol Underworld Unpunished White Wilt Wise1 Kings 2 1. David, having given a charge to Solomon3. of Reverence 5. of Joab 7. of Barzillai 8. of Shimei 10. Solomon succeeds 12. Adonijah, moving Bathsheba to ask unto Solomon for Abishag, 13. is put to death 26. Abiathar, having his life given him, is deprived of the priesthood 28. Joab fleeing to the horns of the altar, is there slain 35. Benaiah is put in Joab's room, and Zadfok in Abiathar's 36. Shimei, confined to Jerusalem, by occasion of going to Gath, is put to death. But do not let him go unpunished This phrase reflects the justice and retribution that were integral to the ancient Israelite understanding of law and order. The Hebrew root for "unpunished" is often associated with the idea of leaving someone without consequences for their actions. In the context of King David's final instructions to Solomon, it underscores the importance of upholding justice as a divine mandate. Historically, this reflects the broader Ancient Near Eastern legal traditions where kings were seen as enforcers of divine justice. for you are a wise man You will know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Now therefore,וְעַתָּה֙ (wə·‘at·tāh) Conjunctive waw | Adverb Strong's 6258: At this time do not אַל־ (’al-) Adverb Strong's 408: Not hold him guiltless, תְּנַקֵּ֔הוּ (tə·naq·qê·hū) Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular Strong's 5352: To be, clean, to be bare, extirpated for כִּ֛י (kî) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction you אָ֑תָּה (’āt·tāh) Pronoun - second person masculine singular Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you are a wise חָכָ֖ם (ḥā·ḵām) Adjective - masculine singular Strong's 2450: Wise man. אִ֥ישׁ (’îš) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person You know וְיָֽדַעְתָּ֙ (wə·yā·ḏa‘·tā) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 3045: To know what אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer) Pronoun - relative Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that you ought to do תַּֽעֲשֶׂה־ (ta·‘ă·śeh-) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 6213: To do, make to him לּ֔וֹ (lōw) Preposition | third person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew to bring his gray head שֵׂיבָת֛וֹ (śê·ḇā·ṯōw) Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 7872: Hoary head, old age down וְהוֹרַדְתָּ֧ (wə·hō·w·raḏ·tā) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend to Sheol שְׁאֽוֹל׃ (šə·’ō·wl) Noun - common singular Strong's 7585: Underworld (place to which people descend at death) in blood.” בְּדָ֖ם (bə·ḏām) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1818: Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed Links 1 Kings 2:9 NIV1 Kings 2:9 NLT 1 Kings 2:9 ESV 1 Kings 2:9 NASB 1 Kings 2:9 KJV 1 Kings 2:9 BibleApps.com 1 Kings 2:9 Biblia Paralela 1 Kings 2:9 Chinese Bible 1 Kings 2:9 French Bible 1 Kings 2:9 Catholic Bible OT History: 1 Kings 2:9 Now therefore don't hold him guiltless (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg) |