David’s Command to Solomon

1Then David’s [†]time to die drew near, so he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2“I am going the way of all the earth. So you shall be strong, and be a man. 3And you shall keep the responsibility given by Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may be prosperous in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4so that Yahweh may establish His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons keep their way, to walk before Me in [†]truth with all their heart and with all their soul, He said, [†]you shall not have a man cut off from the throne of Israel.’

5“Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also [†]shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt [†]about his [†]waist, and on his sandals [†]on his feet. 6So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace. 7But show lovingkindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they [†]assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a [†]violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9So 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.”

The Death of David

10Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. 11And the [†]time which David reigned over Israel was forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

Adonijah’s Request

13Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15So he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel [†]expected me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from Yahweh. 16So now, I am making one request of you; do not [†]turn me away.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not [†]turn you away, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18And Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

Adonijah Put to Death

19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. 20Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not turn [†]me away.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not turn [†]you away.” 21So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22Then King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom—for he is my older brother—even for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” 23Then King Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own [†]life. 24So now, as Yahweh 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, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you [†]deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of Lord Yahweh before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon drove Abiathar away from being priest to Yahweh, in order to fulfill the word of Yahweh, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Put to Death

28Now the news came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of Yahweh and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29And it was told to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Yahweh, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him.” 30So Benaiah came to the tent of Yahweh and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31And the king said to him, “Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 32And Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, but my father David did not know it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his seed forever; but to David and his seed and his house and his throne, may there be peace from Yahweh forever.” 34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness. 35And the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Put to Death

36Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37Now it will be on the day you go out and cross over the [†]brook Kidron, that you will know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.” 38Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39But it happened at the end of three years, that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath.” 40Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to search for his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by Yahweh and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you go out and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh, and the command which I have commanded you?” 44The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the evil which [†]you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore Yahweh shall return your evil on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Yahweh forever.” 46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.