1 Kings 2:25-46

25So King Solomon 1sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “2Go to Anathoth to your own field, 3for you 4deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because 5you carried the ark of the Lord 6God before my father David, and because 7you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill 8the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28Now the news came to Joab, 9for Joab had followed Adonijah, 10although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and 11took hold of the horns of the altar. 29It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon 12sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “13Go, fall upon him.” 30So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31The king said to him, “14Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, 15that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 3216The Lord will return his blood on his own head, 17because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: 18Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and 19Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 3320So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his 21descendants forever; but to David and his 22descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34Then 23Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house 24in the wilderness. 3525The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed 26Zadok the priest 27in the place of Abiathar.

36Now the king sent and called for 28Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37For on the day you go out and 29cross over the 30brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; 31your blood shall be on your own head.” 38Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away 32to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” 40Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42So 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, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I 33have laid on you?” 44The king also said to Shimei, “34You know all the evil which 35you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore 36the Lord shall return your evil on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and 37the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 4638So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

39Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.