David's Charge to Solomon

1Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

2I go the way of all the earth: be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;

3And keep the charge of the LORD your 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 you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself:

4That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your 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 you (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

5Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the armies 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 belt that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

6Do therefore according to your wisdom, and let not his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

7But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at your table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom your brother.

8And, behold, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, who 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 swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword.

9Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do unto him; but his gray head bring you down to the grave with blood.

Death of David

10So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

11And 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.

12Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

Adonijah Put to Death

13And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Come you peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

14He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto you. And she said, Say on.

15And he said, You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: however the kingdom has turned about, and has become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD.

16And now I ask one petition of you, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.

17And he said, Speak, I pray you, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say nay to you,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to be my wife.

18And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for you unto the king.

19Bath-sheba 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.

20Then she said, I desire one small petition of you; I pray you, say not nay to me. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say nay to you.

21And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.

22And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

23Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.

24Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

25And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down so that he died.

26And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get you to Anathoth, unto your own fields; for you are worthy of death: but I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because you have been afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.

27So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfill the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Put to Death

28Then 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.

29And 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, strike him down.

30And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus says 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.

31And the king said unto him, Do as he has said, and strike him down, and bury him; that you may take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

32And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing of it, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.

33Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his descendants forever: but upon David, and upon his descendants, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace forever from the LORD.

34So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and struck him down, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

35And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Put to Death

36And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build you a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth from there anywhere.

37For it shall be, that on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, you shall know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be upon your own head.

38And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

39And 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, your servants are in Gath.

40And Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.

41And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again.

42And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make you to swear by the LORD, and admonished you, saying, Know for a certain, on the day you go out, and travel anywhere, that you shall surely die? and you said unto me, The word that I have heard is good.

43Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged you with?

44The king said moreover to Shimei, You know all the wickedness which was in your heart, that you did to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return your wickedness upon your own head;

45And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.

46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who went out, and struck him, so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.