1 Kings 2:12-35

¹²Solomon became the ruler/king MTY to take the place of his father David and took control of all of the kingdom.

¹³One day Adonijah came to Solomon's mother Bathsheba. She said to him, “Have you come because you want things to go well?” He replied, “Yes.”

¹⁴But then he said, “I have something to ask you to do.” She said, “Tell me what you want me to do.”

¹⁵He said, “You know that all the Israeli people expected me to be their king because I am David's oldest surviving son. But that did not happen. Instead, my younger brother became king, because that is what Yahweh wanted.

¹⁶Now I have one thing that I ask you to do. Please do not refuse to do it.” She replied, “Tell me what you want me to do.”

¹⁷He said, “Please ask King Solomon to give to me Abishag, the woman from Shunem town, to be my wife. I am sure that he will not refuse.”

¹⁸Bathsheba replied, “Okay, I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to tell him what Adonijah wanted. The king got up from his throne and went to greet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne again and asked someone to bring a chair for her. So she sat down at the king's right side.

²⁰Then she said, “I have one small thing which I want you to do; please do not say that you will not do it.” The king replied, “Mother, what do you want? I will not refuse you.”

²¹She said, “Allow Abishag to be given to your older brother Adonijah to be his wife.”

²²The king replied angrily, “What? Are you requesting me to give Abishag to Adonijah? Does he want me to allow him to rule the kingdom, too? Because he is my older brother, does he think that he should be the king? Does he think that Abiathar should be the priest instead of Zadok, and that Joab should be the army commander instead of Benaiah because they supported him when he tried to become the king?”

²³Then Solomon solemnly promised, requesting Yahweh to listen, “I wish God would strike me and kill me if I do not cause Adonijah to be executed for requesting this!

²⁴Yahweh has appointed me to be the king and placed me here to rule MTY as my father David did. He has promised that my descendants MTY will be the kings of Israel. So just as surely as Yahweh lives, I solemnly promise that Adonijah will be executed today!”

²⁵So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah to go and kill Adonijah, and Benaiah did that.

²⁶Then Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to Anathoth town, to your land there. You deserve to be killed, but I will not execute you now, because you were the one who supervised the men who carried Yahweh's Sacred Chest for David my father, and you endured all the troubles that my father endured.”

²⁷So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being the priest of Yahweh. By doing that he caused to happen what Yahweh had said many years previously at Shiloh, that some day he would get rid of the descendants MTY of Eli.

²⁸Joab had not supported Absalom when he tried to become the king, but he had supported Adonijah. So when Joab heard what had happened, he ran to the Sacred Tent, and he grasped the projections on the corners of the altar, because he knew that no one would kill him there.

²⁹When someone told Solomon that Joab had run to the Sacred Tent and was standing alongside the altar, Solomon told Benaiah, “Go and execute Joab.”

³⁰So Benaiah went to the Sacred Tent and said to Joab, “The king commands you to come out!” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah went back to the king and reported what he had said to Joab, and what Joab had replied.

³¹The king replied to him, “Do what he has requested. Kill him and bury his body. If you do that, my descendants MTY and I will no longer be punished for what Joab did when he killed MTY two men who ◄were innocent/had not done anything that is wrong►.

³²But Yahweh will punish MTY Joab for attacking and killing Abner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the commander of the army of Judah, two men who were more righteous and better DOU men than he is. My father David did not even know that Joab was planning to murder them.

³³Joab and his descendants will be punished IDM forever for his murdering Abner and Amasa. But things will forever go well for David's descendants MTY who rule MTY as King David did.”

³⁴So Benaiah went into the Sacred Tent and killed Joab. Joab was buried on his property in the desert part of Judah.

³⁵Then the king appointed Benaiah to be the commander of the army instead of Joab, and he appointed Zadok to be the priest instead of Abiathar.