1 Kings 2:12-41

¹²Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

¹³And 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.

¹⁴He said moreover, I have a word for thee. And she said, Speak.

¹⁵And 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 made his.

¹⁶And now there is one petition I am going to ask of thee, do not turn me away. And she said unto him, Speak.

¹⁷And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, for he will not turn thee away, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite for wife.

¹⁸And Bath-sheba' said, Well: I will speak for thee unto the king.

¹⁹Bath-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.

²⁰Then 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.

²¹And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adoniyah thy brother for wife.

²²And 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.

²³Then 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.

²⁴And 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.

²⁵And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benayahu the son of Yehoyada'; and he fell upon him so that he died.

²⁶And 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.

²⁷So 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.

²⁸And 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.

²⁹And 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.

³⁰And 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.

³¹Then said the king unto him, Do as he hath spoken, and fall upon him, and bury him; and remove thus the innocent blood, which Joab hath shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

³²And 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.

³³And 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.

³⁴So 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.

³⁵And 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.

³⁶And 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.

³⁷And 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.

³⁸And 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.

³⁹And 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.

⁴⁰And 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.

⁴¹And it was told to Solomon that Shim'i had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.