1 Kings 2 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 The time of David's death was approaching, so he gave his son Solomon these last instructions:
1 Now the days of David came near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
2 “I am about to go the way everybody on earth must go. Be brave, and act like a man.
2 “I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;
3 Do what God orders you to do, and follow his ways. Keep his rules, his commands, and his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses, so you may be successful in everything you do, and in everything you give your attention to.
3 and keep the instruction of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn yourself.
4 If so, then the Lord will keep his promise to me when he said: ‘If your descendants are to live right before me, faithfully and with complete commitment, then you will always have one of them on the throne of Israel.’
4 Then Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 In addition, you know what Joab, son of Zeruiah, did to me and what he did to Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of Jether, the two army commanders of Israel. He murdered them, spilling the blood of war during a time of peace. He smeared the blood of war on his belt and on his sandals.
5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist and in his sandals that were on his feet.
6 Do what you think is right, but don't let his gray head go down peacefully into the grave.
6 Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
7 But be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Bring them into your royal court, for they helped me when I ran from your brother Absalom.
7 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.
8 Don't you forget Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed me with painful words when I went to Mahanaim. When he met me at the Jordan I swore to him by the Lord, ‘I will not kill you with the sword.’
8 “Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the 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 the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9 So don't leave him unpunished. You're a wise man and you know what you have to do to him—send him down into the grave with blood on his gray head.”
9 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.”
10 Then David died and was buried in the City of David.
10 David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city.
11 His reign over Israel lasted forty years; seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
11 The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
12 Solomon took over as king, sitting on the throne of his father David, and his hold on his kingdom was secure.
12 Solomon sat on David his father’s throne; and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 Adonijah, son of Haggith, went to see Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She asked him, “Have you come here with good intentions?” He replied, “Yes, with good intentions.”
13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.
14 “I have something I'd like to ask of you,” he continued. “Go on,” she said.
14 He said moreover, I have something to tell you.” She said, “Say on.”
15 “You know that the kingdom was mine,” he declared, “and everyone in Israel was looking forward to me being their next king. But everything was turned upside down, and the kingdom passed to my brother, because that's what the Lord wanted.
15 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 is turned around, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from Yahweh.
16 Now I've just one request to ask of you—please don't say no.” “Tell me,” she said.
16 Now I ask one petition of you. Don’t deny me.” She said to him, “Say on.”
17 He went on, “Please talk to King Solomon for me because he won't turn you down. Ask him to give me Abishag from Shunem as my wife.”
17 He said, “Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you ‘no’), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”
18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will talk to the king for you.”
18 Bathsheba said, “All right. I will speak for you to the king.”
19 So Bathsheba went to talk to King Solomon for Adonijah. The king got up from his throne to meet her, and bowed before her. Then he sat back down and ordered another throne brought in for his mother. She sat to his right.
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.
20 “I have just one small request to ask of you,” she said. “Please don't say no.” The king replied, “Ask away, dear mother. I won't say no to you.”
20 Then she said, “I ask one small petition of you; don’t deny me.” The king said to her, “Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny you.”
21 “Please give Abishag from Shunem to your brother Adonijah as his wife,” she replied.
21 She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why on earth are you asking me to give Abishag to Adonijah? You might as well ask me to give my brother the kingdom! He is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab, son of Zeruiah, are on his side!”
22 King Solomon answered his mother, “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.”
23 Then King Solomon vowed before the Lord, “May God punish me, really punish me, if what Adonijah has asked for doesn't cost him his life.
23 Then King Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
24 So I vow, as the Lord lives, who affirmed me as king and placed me on the throne of my father David, making me the head of a dynasty as he promised, Adonijah shall be executed today.”
24 Now therefore as Yahweh lives, who has established me and set me on my father David’s throne, and who has made me a house as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.”
25 King Solomon sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who carried out the king's orders and executed Adonijah.
25 King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died.
26 In the case of Abiathar, the high priest, the king told him, “Go home and take care of your fields. You should be condemned to death, but I will not kill you right now because you carried the Ark of the Lord God ahead of my father David and went through all his hard times with him.”
26 To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the Lord Yahweh’s ark before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.”
27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, and so fulfilled what the Lord had said at Shiloh regarding the descendants of Eli.
27 So Solomon thrust Abiathar out from being priest to Yahweh, that he might fulfill Yahweh’s word which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 When Joab heard the news he ran to the Lord's Tent and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. (He had not supported Absalom's rebellion but he had supported Adonijah.)
28 This news came to Joab; for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he didn’t follow Absalom. Joab fled to Yahweh’s Tent, and held onto the horns of the altar.
29 When King Solomon was told that Joab was seeking sanctuary by the altar, he sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to execute him.
29 King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to Yahweh’s Tent; and behold, he is by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall on him.”
30 Benaiah went to the Lord's Tent and called to Joab, “The king orders you to come out!” “No! I'll die here!” Joab replied. Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.
30 Benaiah came to Yahweh’s Tent, and said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” He said, “No; but I will die here.” Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “This is what Joab said, and this is how he answered me.”
31 “Do as he says,” the king told Benaiah. “Strike him down and bury him. In that way you will remove from me and my family the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed.
31 The king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him, that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house.
32 The Lord will pay him back for the blood he shed, for without my father David's knowledge, he killed two good men who were better than he was. With his sword he killed Abner, son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa, son of Jether, commander of Judah's army.
32 Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn’t know it: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.
33 May the responsibility for shedding their blood come back on Joab and his descendants forever; but may the Lord give peace and prosperity to David, his descendants, his family, and his dynasty forever.”
33 So their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his offspring forever. But for David, for his offspring, for his house, and for his throne, there will be peace forever from Yahweh.”
34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned and killed Joab. He was buried at his home in the wilderness.
34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell on him, and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35 The king appointed Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to take over Joab's role as army commander, and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.
35 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.
36 Then the king summoned Shimei and told him, “Go and build yourself a house in Jerusalem and stay there, but don't leave and go anywhere else.
36 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there, and don’t go anywhere else.
37 You should know for certain that the day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley you will die. Your death will be your own responsibility.”
37 For on the day you go out and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you will surely die. Your blood will be on your own head.”
38 “What Your Majesty says is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has ordered.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
38 Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39 But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves escaped to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
39 At the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath.”
40 So Shimei saddled up his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to look for his slaves. He found them and brought them back from Gath.
40 Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves; and Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.
41 Solomon was informed that Shimei had left Jerusalem to go to Gath, and had then returned.
41 Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again.
42 The king summoned Shimei and asked him, “Didn't I vow to you by the Lord, didn't I warn you that the day you left and went somewhere else that you should know for certain that you would die? Didn't you reply to me, ‘What Your Majesty says is fair; I'll do as you ordered’?
42 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Didn’t I adjure you by Yahweh and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and walk anywhere else, you shall surely die’? You said to me, ‘The saying that I have heard is good.’
43 So why haven't you kept your vow to the Lord, and obeyed my orders?”
43 Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh and the commandment that I have instructed you with?”
44 The king also told Shimei, “Deep down you know all the evil things you did to my father David. That's why the Lord will repay you for your evil.
44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wickedness that you did to David my father. Therefore Yahweh will return your wickedness on your own head.
45 But I, King Solomon, will be blessed and David's dynasty will be kept safe in the presence of the Lord forever.”
45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will be established before Yahweh forever.”
46 The king ordered Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to execute Shimei, so he went and killed Shimei. In this way Solomon's hold on the kingdom was made secure.
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abishag the Shunammite
A very beautiful girl from Shunem found to care for the aged King David and keep him warm, whom Adonijah later asked to marry.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 1:3; 1 Kings 1:15; 1 Kings 2:17
Achish
Called 'son of Maacah', king of Gath, to whom two of Shimei's slaves ran away.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 2:39; 1 Kings 2:40
Adonijah
A son of David who tried to claim the throne ahead of Solomon in David's final days.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Kings 1-2
Bathsheba
Wife of David and mother of Solomon, remembered amid both sin and grace.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Kings 1-2; Matthew 1:6
David
The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king and a man after God's own heart.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16 - 1 Kings 2; 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 2:15; Matt. 1:6
Gera
Named as the father of Shimei, the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed David.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 16:5; 2 Samuel 19:16; 1 Kings 2:8
Ithra
An Ishmaelite who married Abigail, sister of Zeruiah, and was the father of Amasa. 1 Kings 2:5 and 1 Chronicles 2:17 call him Jether.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 17:25; 1 Kings 2:5; 1 Kings 2:32
Solomon
David's son who built the temple and became famous for God-given wisdom.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 1-11; 1 Chron. 3:5; Matt. 1:6-7
Cross references (44)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 47:29; Deuteronomy 31:14; Deuteronomy 31:23; Numbers 27:19; Deuteronomy 3:28
- 2 Joshua 1:6–7; Ephesians 6:10; Joshua 23:14; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Deuteronomy 31:23
- 3 Deuteronomy 29:9; Proverbs 3:1–4; Deuteronomy 17:18–20; Psalm 119:2; Joshua 1:7–8
- 4 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Samuel 7:25; 1 Kings 8:25; Psalm 132:11–12; Matthew 22:37
- 5 2 Samuel 3:27; 2 Samuel 20:10; 2 Samuel 18:12; 2 Samuel 18:5; 2 Samuel 18:14
- 6 1 Kings 2:9; Isaiah 57:21; Proverbs 28:17; Isaiah 48:22; Ecclesiastes 8:11
- 7 2 Samuel 17:27–29; 2 Samuel 9:7; 2 Samuel 19:31–40; 2 Samuel 9:10; 2 Samuel 15:13–15
- 8 2 Samuel 16:5–8; Jeremiah 4:2; 1 Kings 2:36–46; 2 Samuel 19:16–23
- 9 1 Kings 2:6; Genesis 44:31; Genesis 42:38; Exodus 22:28; Numbers 32:23
- 10 Acts 2:29; Acts 13:36; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 1:21; 1 Chronicles 29:28
- 11 2 Samuel 5:4–5; 1 Chronicles 29:26–27
- 12 2 Chronicles 1:1; 1 Chronicles 29:23–25; 2 Samuel 7:12–13; Psalm 132:12; 2 Samuel 7:29
- 13 1 Kings 1:50–53; 1 Kings 1:5–10; 1 Chronicles 12:17–18; 1 Samuel 16:4–5; 2 Kings 9:18–22
- 14 Luke 7:40; 2 Samuel 14:12
- 15 1 Chronicles 28:5–7; 1 Chronicles 22:9–10; 1 Kings 1:25; 1 Kings 1:5; Daniel 2:22
- 16 Proverbs 30:7; Psalm 132:10
- 17 2 Samuel 3:7; 2 Samuel 12:8; 1 Kings 1:2–4
- 18 Proverbs 14:15
- 19 Psalm 45:9; Leviticus 19:32; Leviticus 19:3; 1 Kings 15:13; Psalm 110:1
- 20 John 15:16; Matthew 11:24; Matthew 20:20–21; John 2:3–4; Matthew 18:19
- 21 1 Kings 1:3; 2 Samuel 16:21–22
- 22 1 Chronicles 3:2; James 4:3; 1 Kings 1:24–25; 2 Samuel 12:8; 1 Kings 1:5–7
- 23 Ruth 1:17; Psalm 64:8; Psalm 140:9; 1 Kings 20:10; 2 Samuel 3:35
- 24 1 Chronicles 22:10; 2 Samuel 7:11–13; 2 Samuel 7:27; 1 Samuel 25:28; 1 Kings 3:6–7
- 25 2 Samuel 8:18; Judges 8:20–21; 1 Kings 2:34; 1 Kings 2:46; 2 Samuel 4:12
- 26 Joshua 21:18; 1 Samuel 22:20–23; 1 Samuel 26:16; 2 Samuel 15:24–29; Jeremiah 1:1
- 27 1 Samuel 2:27–36; 1 Samuel 3:12–14; Jeremiah 7:12–14; Joshua 18:1; Psalm 78:60
- 28 1 Kings 1:7; 1 Kings 1:50; 2 Samuel 18:2; 2 Samuel 17:25; Exodus 27:2
- 29 1 Kings 2:25; Exodus 21:14; Ezekiel 9:6; 1 Peter 4:17; 1 Kings 2:46
- 31 Deuteronomy 21:8–9; Numbers 35:33; Exodus 21:14; 2 Samuel 3:28; Proverbs 28:17
- 32 Judges 9:24; 2 Chronicles 21:13; Psalm 7:16; Judges 9:57; 2 Samuel 20:9–10
- 33 2 Samuel 3:28–29; 1 Kings 2:32; Matthew 27:25; Proverbs 25:5; Isaiah 11:1–9
- 34 1 Kings 2:25; Matthew 3:1; Joshua 15:61; 1 Kings 2:31; 1 Kings 2:46
- 35 1 Kings 2:27; 1 Kings 4:4; 1 Chronicles 29:22; 1 Chronicles 24:3; Psalm 109:8
- 36 2 Samuel 16:5–9; 1 Kings 2:8–9; Proverbs 20:26; Proverbs 20:8; 2 Samuel 14:28
- 37 2 Samuel 1:16; 2 Samuel 15:23; Joshua 2:19; John 18:1; Leviticus 20:9
- 38 1 Kings 20:4; 2 Kings 20:19
- 39 1 Samuel 27:2–3; 1 Samuel 21:10
- 40 Proverbs 15:27; Luke 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:10
- 42 Luke 19:22; Psalm 15:4; Luke 15:22; 1 Kings 2:36–38
- 43 Ezekiel 17:18–19; Romans 13:5; 2 Chronicles 30:12; 2 Samuel 21:2; Ecclesiastes 8:2
- 44 2 Samuel 16:5–13; Psalm 7:16; 1 Samuel 25:39; Ezekiel 17:19; Proverbs 5:22
- 45 Proverbs 25:5; Psalm 21:6; 2 Samuel 7:13; Isaiah 9:6–7; Psalm 72:17
- 46 1 Kings 2:12; 2 Chronicles 1:1; Proverbs 29:4; 1 Kings 2:45
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences