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1 Kings 2:13-46 — Solomon's Throne Established

1Kgs.2.13-46

¹³Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and she said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.” ¹⁴Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” ¹⁵He said, “You know that the kingship was mine, and that all Israel had set their faces on me to reign. But the kingship turned and became my brother's, for it was his from the LORD.” ¹⁶And now I am asking one request of you; do not refuse me. She said to him, “Speak.” ¹⁷He said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” ¹⁸Bathsheba said, “Very well. I will speak to the king for you.” ¹⁹So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, bowed to her, sat on his throne, and had a throne set for the king's mother; and she sat at his right hand. ²⁰Then she said, “I am asking one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” ²¹She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.” ²²King Solomon answered his mother, “Why are you asking for Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask the kingdom for him as well , since he is my older brother—and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah also!” ²³Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.” ²⁴And now, as the LORD lives, who established me and seated me on the throne of David my father, and who established a house for me as he promised, Adonijah shall surely be put to death today." ²⁵So King Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck Adonijah down, and he died. ²⁶And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death. But on this day I will not put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because you shared in all my father's affliction.” ²⁷So Solomon banished Abiathar from serving as priest to the LORD, fulfilling the word of the LORD that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. ²⁸When the report came to Joab—for Joab had sided with Adonijah, though he had not sided with Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar . ²⁹And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD, and behold, he is beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰So Benaiah went to the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “Thus says the king: Come out.” But Joab said, “No, for I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought word back to the king, saying, “Thus Joab spoke, and thus he answered me.” ³¹And the king said to him, “Do as he said. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from my father's house the innocent blood that Joab shed.” ³²And the LORD will return his blood upon his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword without my father David's knowledge: Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ³³So their blood shall return on the head of Joab and on the head of his offspring forever, but for David and for his offspring and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the LORD forever. ³⁴Then Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck Joab down and put him to death, and he was buried at his house in the wilderness. ³⁵And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar. ³⁶Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there anywhere.” ³⁷For on the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for certain that you will surely die; your blood will be on your own head." ³⁸And Shimei said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has spoken, so your servant will do.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days. ³⁹But at the end of three years, two of Shimei's servants ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” ⁴⁰So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants. Then Shimei went and brought his servants back from Gath. ⁴¹And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned. ⁴²Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the LORD and solemnly warn you, saying, 'On the day you go out and go anywhere at all, know for certain that you will surely die'? And you said to me, 'The word is good; I have heard it.' ⁴³Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the command that I laid upon you?" ⁴⁴And the king said to Shimei, "You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David, and the LORD has returned your evil upon your own head. ⁴⁵But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever." ⁴⁶Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in Solomon's hand.

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4/11/2026

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