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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>1 Kings 2 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_kings/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_kings/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > 1 Kings 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_kings/1.htm" title="1 Kings 1">◄</a> 1 Kings 2 <a href="../1_kings/3.htm" title="1 Kings 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/1_kings/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">David’s Final Instructions to Solomon</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>“I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>If you do this, then the LORD will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>“And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Do with him what you think best, but don’t let him grow old and go to his grave in peace.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>“Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them permanent guests at your table, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>“And remember Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the LORD that I would not kill him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a>”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>David had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.</p><p class="hdg">Solomon Establishes His Rule</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>One day Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, came to see Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. “Have you come with peaceful intentions?” she asked him.</p><p class="reg">“Yes,” he said, “I come in peace. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>In fact, I have a favor to ask of you.”</p><p class="reg">“What is it?” she asked.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>He replied, “As you know, the kingdom was rightfully mine; all Israel wanted me to be the next king. But the tables were turned, and the kingdom went to my brother instead; for that is the way the LORD wanted it. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>So now I have just one favor to ask of you. Please don’t turn me down.”</p><p class="reg">“What is it?” she asked.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>He replied, “Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to let me marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“All right,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah’s behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, the king ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>“I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “I hope you won’t turn me down.”</p><p class="reg">“What is it, my mother?” he asked. “You know I won’t refuse you.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“Then let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem,” she replied.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?” King Solomon demanded. “You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Then King Solomon made a vow before the LORD: “May God strike me and even kill me if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>The LORD has confirmed me and placed me on the throne of my father, David; he has established my dynasty as he promised. So as surely as the LORD lives, Adonijah will die this very day!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Adonijah was put to death.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign LORD for David my father and you shared all his hardships.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the LORD, thereby fulfilling the prophecy the LORD had given at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Joab had not joined Absalom’s earlier rebellion, but he had joined Adonijah’s rebellion. So when Joab heard about Adonijah’s death, he ran to the sacred tent of the LORD and grabbed on to the horns of the altar. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>When this was reported to King Solomon, he sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Benaiah went to the sacred tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out!”</p><p class="reg">But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.”</p><p class="reg">So Benaiah returned to the king and told him what Joab had said.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>“Do as he said,” the king replied. “Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of Joab’s senseless murders from me and from my father’s family. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>The LORD will repay him<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father knew nothing about the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and of Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the LORD grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned to the sacred tent and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the wilderness. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>Then the king appointed Benaiah to command the army in place of Joab, and he installed Zadok the priest to take the place of Abiathar.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>The king then sent for Shimei and told him, “Build a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don’t step outside the city to go anywhere else. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>On the day you so much as cross the Kidron Valley, you will surely die; and your blood will be on your own head.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>Shimei replied, “Your sentence is fair; I will do whatever my lord the king commands.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When Shimei learned where they were, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>he saddled his donkey and went to Gath to search for them. When he found them, he brought them back to Jerusalem.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>Solomon heard that Shimei had left Jerusalem and had gone to Gath and returned. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span>So the king sent for Shimei and demanded, “Didn’t I make you swear by the LORD and warn you not to go anywhere else or you would surely die? And you replied, ‘The sentence is fair; I will do as you say.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-43.htm"><b>43</b></a></span>Then why haven’t you kept your oath to the LORD and obeyed my command?”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-44.htm"><b>44</b></a></span>The king also said to Shimei, “You certainly remember all the wicked things you did to my father, David. May the LORD now bring that evil on your own head. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-45.htm"><b>45</b></a></span>But may I, King Solomon, receive the LORD’s blessings, and may one of David’s descendants always sit on this throne in the presence of the LORD.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_kings/2-46.htm"><b>46</b></a></span>Then, at the king’s command, Benaiah son of Jehoiada took Shimei outside and killed him.</p><p class="reg">So the kingdom was now firmly in Solomon’s grip.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:5a </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">He murdered them during a time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:5b </span><span class="ft">As in some Greek and Old Latin manuscripts; Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">with the blood of war.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:6 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">don’t let his white head go down to Sheol in peace.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:9 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">how to bring his white head down to Sheol in blood.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:32 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">will return his blood on his own head.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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