1Kings:2

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* And when the days of David drew near that he should die , he charged Solomon his son , saying , * I am going the way of all the earth ; but be thou strong , and become a man ; * And keep the charge of the Lord thy God , to walk in his ways , to keep his statutes , his commandments , and his ordinances , and his testimonies , as it is written in the law of Moses ; in order that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest , and whithersoever thou turnest thyself ; * In order that the Lord may fulfill his word which he hath spoken concerning me , saying , If thy children take heed to their way , to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul , there shall never fail thee , said he , a man on the throne of Israel . * And thou also knowest well what Joab the son of Zeruyah hath done to me , what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel , unto Abner the son of Ner , and unto ‘Amassa the son of Yether , whom he slew , and shed the blood of war in peace , and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins , and on his shoes that were on his feet . * Do therefore according to thy wisdom , and let not his hoary head go down in peace to the grave . * But unto the sons of Barzillai the Gil ’adite show thou kindness , and let them be of those that eat at thy table ; for so they came near to me when I fled from before Abshalom thy brother . * And , behold , thou hast with thee Shim ’i the son of Gera , the Benjamite of Bachurim , who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Machanayim ; but who came down to meet me at the Jordan , and I swore to him by the Lord , saying , I will not put thee to death with the sword . * But now leave him not unpunished ; for thou art a wise man ; know then what thou oughtest to do unto him , and bring thou down his hoary head with blood to the grave . * And David slept with his fathers , and was buried in the city of David . * And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years : in Hebron he reigned seven years , and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years . * Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father ; and his kingdom was established greatly . * And Adoniyah the son of Chaggith came to Bath –sheba ’ the mother of Solomon : and she said , Is thy coming for peace ? And he said , For peace . * He said moreover , I have a word for thee . And she said , Speak . * And he said , Thou well knowest that mine was the kingdom , and that on me all Israel had set their faces , that I should reign : nevertheless the kingdom was turned about , and became my brother ’s ; for from the Lord was it his . * And now there is one petition I am going to ask of thee , do not turn me away . And she said unto him , Speak . * And he said , Speak , I pray thee , unto Solomon the king , that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite for wife . * And Bath –sheba ’ said , Well : I will speak for thee unto the king . * Bath –sheba ’ thereupon went unto king Solomon , to speak unto him for Adoniyah ; and the king rose up to meet her , and bowed himself unto her , and then sat down on his throne , and placed a chair for the king ’s mother ; and she sat on his right hand . * Then said she , There is one small petition I am going to ask of thee ; do not turn me away . And the king said unto her , Ask on , my mother ; for I will not turn thee away . * And she said , Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adoniyah thy brother for wife . * And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother , And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adoniyah ? rather ask for him the kingdom ; for he is my elder brother ; ––even for him , and for Ebyathar the priest , and for Joab the son of Zeruyah . * Then swore king Solomon by the Lord , saying , May God do so to me , and may he thus continue , if Adoniyah have not spoken this word against his own life . * And now , as the Lord liveth , who hath established me , and seated me on the throne of David my father , and who hath made me a house , as he hath spoken , this very day shall Adoniyah be put to death . * And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ’; and he fell upon him so that he died . * And unto Ebyathar the priest said the king , Go to ‘Anathoth , unto thy own fields ; for thou art a man worthy of death ; but on this day will I not put thee to death ; because thou hast borne the ark of the Lord Eternal before David my father , and because thou was afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted . * So Solomon banished Ebyathar that he should not be priest unto the Lord , to fulfill the word of the Lord , which he had spoken concerning the house of ‘Eli in Shiloh . * And the report came to Joab ; for Joab had turned after Adoniyah , though he had not turned after Abshalom . And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord , and caught hold on the horns of the altar . * And it was told to king Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord ; and that , behold , he was close by the altar . Then sent Solomon Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ,’ saying , Go , fall upon him . * And Benayahu came to the tabernacle of the Lord , and said unto him , Thus hath said the king , Come forth . And he said , No ; but here will I die . And Benayahu brought the king word again , saying , Thus hath Joab spoken , and thus hath he answered me . * Then said the king unto him , Do as he hath spoken , and fall upon him , and bury him ; and remove the innocent blood , which Joab hath shed , from me , and from the house of my father . * And may the Lord bring back his blood –guiltiness upon his own head , because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he , and slew them with the sword , while my father David knew it not , Abner the son of Ner , the captain of the army of Israel , and ‘Amassa the son of Yether , the captain of the army of Judah . * And their blood shall return upon the head of Joab , and upon the head of his seed for ever ; but unto David , and unto his seed , and unto his house , and unto his throne , may there be peace for ever from the Lord . * So Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ’ went up , and fell upon him , and slew him : and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness . * And the king appointed Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ’ in his place over the army ; and Zadok the priest did the king appoint in the place of Ebyathar . * And the king sent and called for Shim ’i , and said unto him , Build thee a house in Jerusalem , and dwell there , and thou shalt not go forth from there hither or thither . * And it shall be , that on the day thou goest out , and passest over the brook Kidron , thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die : thy blood shall be upon thy own head . * And Shim ’i said unto the king , It is well : as my Lord the king hath spoken , so will thy servant do . And Shim ’i dwelt in Jerusalem many days . * And it came to pass at the end of three years , that two servants of Shim ’i ran away unto Achish the son of Ma ’achah the king of Gath : and they told unto Shim ’i , saying , Behold , thy servants are in Gath . * And Shim ’i arose , and saddled his ass , and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants ; and Shim ’i went , and brought his servants from Gath . * And it was told to Solomon that Shim ’i had gone from Jerusalem to Gath , and had returned . * And the king sent and called for Shim ’i , and said unto him , Did I not make thee swear by the Lord , and warned thee , saying , On that day thou goest out , and walkest abroad hither or thither , know for certain that thou shalt surely die ? and thou saidst unto me , It is well , I have heard ? * Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord , and the commandment with which I charged thee ? * The king said moreover to Shim ’i , Thou well knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious , that thou hast done to David my father : and the Lord bringeth back thy wickedness upon thy own head ; * But king Solomon will be blessed , and the throne of David will be established before the Lord for ever . * So the king commanded Benayahu the son of Yehoyada ’, who went out , and fell upon him , so that he died . And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon .

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