1Kings:2

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* Now the days of David drew near that he should die , and he charged Solomon his son , saying : * "I go the way of all the earth ; be strong , therefore , and prove yourself a man . * And keep the charge of the LORD your 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 may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn ; * that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me , saying , "If your sons take heed to their way , to walk 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 .' * "Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me , and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel , to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa 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 that was around his waist , and on his sandals that were on his feet . * Therefore do according to your wisdom , and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace . * "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite , and let them be among those who eat at your table , for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother . * "And see , you have with you Shimei the son of Gera , a Benjamite from Bahurim , who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim . But he came down to meet me at the Jordan , and I swore to him by the LORD , saying , "I will not put you to death with the sword .' * 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 ." * So David rested with his fathers , and was buried in the City of David . * The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years ; seven years he reigned in Hebron , and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years . * Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David ; and his kingdom was firmly established . * Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon . So she said , "Do you come peaceably ?" And he said , "Peaceably ." * Moreover he said , "I have something to say to you ." And she said , "Say it ." * Then he said , "You know that the kingdom was mine , 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 ; for it was his from the LORD . * Now I ask one petition of you ; do not deny me ." And she said to him , "Say it ." * Then he said , "Please speak to King Solomon , for he will not refuse you , that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife ." * So Bathsheba said , "Very well , I will speak for you to the king ." * Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon , to speak to him for Adonijah . And the king rose up to meet her and bowed 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 . * 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 ." * So she said , "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife ." * 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 he is my older brother--for him , and for Abiathar the priest , and for Joab the son of Zeruiah ." * Then King Solomon swore by the LORD , saying , "May God do so to me , and more also , if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life ! * Now therefore , as the LORD lives , who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father , and who has established a house for me , as He promised , Adonijah shall be put to death today !" * So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ; and he struck him down , and he died . * And to Abiathar the priest the king said , "Go to Anathoth , to your own fields , for you are deserving of death ; but I will not put you to death at this time , because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David , and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted ." * So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD , that he might fulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh . * Then news came to Joab , for Joab had defected to Adonijah , though he had not defected to Absalom . So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD , and took hold of the horns of the altar . * And King Solomon was told , "Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the LORD ; there he is , by the altar ." Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , saying , "Go , strike him down ." * So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the LORD , 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 ." * 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 . * So the LORD will return his blood on his head , because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he , and killed them with the sword--Abner the son of Ner , the commander of the army of Israel , and Amasa the son of Jether , the commander of the army of Judah--though my father David did not know it . * Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever . But upon David and his descendants , upon his house and his throne , there shall be peace forever from the LORD ." * So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him ; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness . * The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army , and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar . * Then the king sent and called for Shimei , and said to him , "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there , and do not go out from there anywhere . * For it shall be , on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron , know for certain you shall surely die ; your blood shall be on your own head ." * And Shimei said to the king , "The saying is good . As my lord the king has said , so your servant will do ." So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days . * Now it happened at the end of three years , that two slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah , king of Gath . And they told Shimei , saying , "Look , your slaves are in Gath !" * 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 . * And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back . * Then the king sent and called for Shimei , and said to him , "Did I not make you swear by the LORD , 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 heard is good .' * Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the commandment that I gave you ?" * The king said moreover to Shimei , "You know , as your heart acknowledges , all the wickedness that you did to my father David ; therefore the LORD will return your wickedness on your own head . * But King Solomon shall be blessed , and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever ." * So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ; and he went out and struck him down , and he died . Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon .

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