1 Kings 2:5-32

5“Now you yourself also know what Joab the 1son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to 2Abner the son of Ner and to 3Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also 4shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt that was on his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 65So act as your wisdom dictates, and do not let his gray hair go down to 6Sheol in peace. 7However, 7show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and 8let them be among those who eat at your table; 9for 10they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8And behold, you have with you 11Shimei the son of Gera the Benjaminite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a painful curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when 12he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9But now do not leave him unpunished, 13for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to 14Sheol with blood.”

10Then 15David 16lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in 17the city of David. 11Now 18the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: in Hebron he reigned for 19seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years. 12Then 20Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “21Do 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 yourself know that 22the kingdom was mine and 23that all Israel 24intended for me to be king; 25however, the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, 26for it was his from the Lord. 16So now I am making one request of you; do not 27refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king--for he will not 28refuse you--that he may give me 29Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18And Bathsheba 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 stood to meet her, bowed to her, and sat on his throne; then he 30had a throne set up for the king’s mother, and 31she sat on his right. 20Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; 32do not 33refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not 34refuse you.” 21So she said, “35Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22But King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? 36Request for him the kingdom as well--37since he is my older brother--for him, for 38Abiathar 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 so, if Adonijah has 39not spoken this word against his own 40life! 24Now then, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and 41has made me a house just as He 42promised, Adonijah certainly shall be put to death today!” 25Then King Solomon 43sent the order by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he 44struck him so that he died.

26Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “45Go to Anathoth to your own field, 46for you 47deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this 48time, because 49you carried the ark of the Lord 50God before my father David, and because 51you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, to fulfill 52the word of the Lord, which He had spoken regarding the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28Now the news came to Joab 53because Joab had followed Adonijah, 54though he had not followed Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and 55took hold of the horns of the altar. 29And it was reported to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and 56was beside the altar. Then Solomon 57sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “58Go, 59execute him.” 30So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “This is what the king has said: ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” So Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “This is what Joab spoke, and so he answered me.” 31And the king said to him, “60Do just as he has spoken, and 61execute him and bury him, 62so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without 63justification. 3264The Lord will return his blood on his own head, 65because he 66struck two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know about it: 67Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and 68Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.