1 Kings 2:4-28

⁴In 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.

⁵And 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.

⁶Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down in peace to the grave.

⁷But 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.

⁸And, 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.

⁹But 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.

¹⁰And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

¹¹And 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.

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.