1 Kings 2:8-36

8Behold, 1there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a 2violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when 3he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, 4for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to 5Sheol with blood.”

10Then 6David slept with his fathers and was buried in 7the city of David. 118The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: 9seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 12And 10Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “11Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” 14Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15So he said, “You know that 12the kingdom was mine and 13that all Israel 14expected me to be king; 15however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, 16for it was his from the Lord. 16Now I am making one request of you; do not 17refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not 18refuse you, that he may give me 19Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he 20had a throne set for the king’s mother, and 21she sat on his right. 20Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; 22do not 23refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not 24refuse you.” 21So she said, “25Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? 26Ask for him also the kingdom--27for he is my older brother--even for him, for 28Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” 23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has 29not spoken this word against his own 30life. 24Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and 31who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25So King Solomon 32sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “33Go to Anathoth to your own field, 34for you 35deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because 36you carried the ark of the Lord 37God before my father David, and because 38you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill 39the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28Now the news came to Joab, 40for Joab had followed Adonijah, 41although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and 42took 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 43sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “44Go, 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, “45Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, 46that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 3247The Lord will return his blood on his own head, 48because 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: 49Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and 50Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 3351So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his 52descendants forever; but to David and his 53descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34Then 54Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house 55in the wilderness. 3556The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed 57Zadok the priest 58in the place of Abiathar.

36Now the king sent and called for 59Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place.