David Instructs Solomon (Psalm 37:1–40)
1 UST Later, David realized that he was about to die, so he gave some final instructions to his son Solomon. He said, BSB BSB: As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon,
2 UST “I am about to die, as everyone on earth does.{ Then you will be the king, so} you must show strong character and great maturity. BSB BSB: “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man.
3 UST Do what Yahweh your God has told you to do. Conduct yourself as he wants you to do. Obey every one of the commandments that Moses recorded in the laws that he gave us. If you do this, you will prosper in all that you do and wherever you go. BSB BSB: And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn,
4 UST If you continually do that, Yahweh will do what he promised me. He said,‘If your descendants do what I tell them to do, and faithfully obey my commands with all their inner beings, they will always be the ones who will rule Israel.’ BSB BSB: and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 UST There is something else that I want you to do. You know very well how Joab son of Zeruiah acted contrary to my wishes and interests. He murdered two men whom I wanted to be my army commander, first Abner son of Ner, then Amasa son of Jether. Previously those men had led armies that were fighting wars against my army, which Joab was commanding. But he murdered them during a peaceful time when they were not his opponents in war. He pretended to be friendly to them so that he could get close to them, but then he stabbed them, and he was so close that their blood got on his clothing. BSB BSB: Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
6 UST I am confident that you are wise enough to know how to make sure that he does not die a peaceful death in old age. BSB BSB: So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
7 UST But act kindly toward the children of Barzillai the Gileadite. Let them eat meals with you in the palace. Do that because Barzillai helped me when I was running away from your older brother Absalom. BSB BSB: But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 UST I also want you to punish Shimei son of Gera, that Benjaminite from the town of Bahurim. Remember that he cursed me terribly on the day when I left Jerusalem and fled to the town of Mahanaim. Later he came to welcome me back when I was crossing the Jordan River to return to my royal palace{, and he asked me to forgive him}. I solemnly promised him that I would not execute him. I guaranteed that promise by my devotion to Yahweh. BSB BSB: Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’
9 UST But now you must surely punish him. You are a wise man, so you will know what you should do to him. Make sure that he does not die peacefully in his old age.” BSB BSB: Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”
David’s Reign and Death (1 Chronicles 29:26–30)
10 UST After David gave these instructions to Solomon, he died. The Israelites buried him in the part of Jerusalem that they called the City of David. BSB BSB: Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
11 UST David had been the king of Israel for 40 years. He had ruled for 7 years in Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
12 UST Then Solomon became the king in place of his father David. Yahweh enabled him to take firm control of the entire kingdom. BSB BSB: So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
The Execution of Adonijah 13 UST One day Adonijah came to speak with Solomon’ s mother Bathsheba. She asked him,“Have you come as a friend?” He replied,“Yes, as a friend.” BSB BSB: Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied.
14 UST But then he said,“I want to ask you to do something for me.” She replied,“Tell me what you want me to do.” BSB BSB: Then he said, “I have something to tell you.” “Say it,” she answered.
15 UST He said,“You certainly know that all the Israelite people expected me to be their king{ because I am David’ s oldest living son}. But that did not happen. Instead, my younger brother became king, because that is what Yahweh wanted. BSB BSB: “You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD.
16 UST But I want to request one thing from you. Please do not refuse to do it.” She replied,“Tell me what you want me to do.” BSB BSB: So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him.
17 UST He said,“Please ask King Solomon to allow me to marry Abishag, that woman from the city of Shunem. I am sure that he will agree to do anything you ask him to do.” BSB BSB: Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
18 UST Bathsheba replied,“All right, I will go and ask the king to allow you to marry her.” BSB BSB: “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
19 UST So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to tell him what Adonijah wanted. When she arrived, the king got up from his throne and bowed down to her{ to honor her}. Then he sat down on his throne again, and he had his servants bring a throne for her to sit on as the queen mother. He had her sit{ in a place of honor} on his right side. BSB BSB: So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.
20 UST Then she said,“I want to request one small thing from you. Please do not refuse to do it.” The king replied,“I will not refuse to do what you ask. So please tell me what you want, madam.” BSB BSB: “I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.” “Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.”
21 UST She said,“Allow your older brother Adonijah to marry Abishag, the woman from the city of Shunem.” BSB BSB: So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
22 UST King Solomon replied,“You should not be asking me to allow Adonijah to marry Abishag! That is just like asking me to allow him to be the king instead of me. After all, he is my older brother{, so he may still think he deserves to be the king.} If I allow this, Adonijah will become the king{ instead of me}, and only Abiathar will be the high priest{ instead of Zadok as well} and Joab will remain the army commander.” BSB BSB: King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
23 UST Then Solomon made a solemn promise, guaranteeing it by his devotion to Yahweh. He said,“By asking to marry Abishag, Adonijah{ has shown that he is not truly loyal to me, so he} deserves to die! If I do not execute him, may God kill me instead and do other terrible things to me. BSB BSB: Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
24 UST I solemnly promise that I am going to order someone to execute Adonijah today! I guarantee that promise by my devotion to Yahweh, who has made me the ruler over Israel, as my father David was. By making me the king, Yahweh has fulfilled his promise to David that his descendants would be kings of Israel.” BSB BSB: And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
25 UST Then King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to go and kill Adonijah, and Benaiah did that. BSB BSB: So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.
26 UST Then Solomon{ summoned} Abiathar the priest and told him,“Go to the town of Anathoth, to your land there. You deserve to die{ as your punishment for being disloyal to me}. But I will not execute you now, since you brought Yahweh’ s sacred chest to David my father{ when he had to flee from Jerusalem}. You also endured the same troubles that he endured{ because you remained loyal to him when Absalom rebelled against him}.” BSB BSB: Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”
27 UST So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being Yahweh’ s high priest. As a result, he made happen what Yahweh had said would happen to the descendants of Eli. Many years before at Shiloh, Yahweh had said{ that someday they would no longer serve him as priests}. BSB BSB: So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.
The Execution of Joab 28 UST Joab had supported Adonijah when he tried to become the king, although he had not supported Absalom earlier. So when Solomon punished Adonijah and Abiathar{, who had also supported him}, someone came and told Joab about that. Joab ran to the sacred tent and held onto the projections at the corners of the altar{ because he thought no one would harm him there}. BSB BSB: When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
29 UST When someone told Solomon that Joab had run to the sacred tent and was alongside the altar, Solomon told Benaiah,“Go and execute Joab.” BSB BSB: It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!”
30 UST So Benaiah went to the sacred tent and told Joab,“The king commands you to come out.” But Joab replied,“No,{ if I must die,} I will die here.” So Benaiah went back to the king and reported how Joab had responded when he told him to come out of the sacred tent. BSB BSB: And Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.”
31 UST The king replied to him,“Do just what he has said. Kill him and bury his body. If you do that, Yahweh will not punish me or my family for not providing justice for the two men whom Joab killed in peacetime for what they did during a war. BSB BSB: And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed.
32 UST { When you execute Joab,} Yahweh will be punishing him for attacking and violently killing Abner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the commander of the army of Judah. Those two men were both much better men than he was. My father David did not know that Joab was planning to murder them. BSB BSB: The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.
33 UST Yahweh will always hold Joab and his descendants responsible because he murdered Abner and Amasa. But{ because David had nothing to do with those murders,} Yahweh will always make things go well for David’ s descendants who rule over Israel as he did.” BSB BSB: Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”
34 UST So Benaiah went to the sacred tent and executed Joab. Joab’ s family buried his body on his property in the desolate area within the territory of the tribe of Judah. BSB BSB: So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness.
35 UST Then King Solomon appointed Benaiah to be the army commander instead of Joab, and he appointed Zadok to be the only high priest, instead of Abiathar being a high priest as well. BSB BSB: And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.
The Execution of Shimei 36 UST Then the king sent a messenger to summon Shimei.{ When Shimei arrived,} the king told him,“You must come and live here in Jerusalem. Build a house for yourself and stay in it. Do not leave the city to go anywhere else. BSB BSB: Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.
37 UST You can be sure that if you ever leave Jerusalem and go farther from the city than the Kidron Brook, I will have one of my soldiers execute you, and it will be your own fault.” BSB BSB: On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
38 UST Shimei replied,“I agree, Your Majesty. I will do what you have said.” Then Shimei{ moved to Jerusalem and} stayed in the city for a long time. BSB BSB: “The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
39 UST But three years later, two of Shimei’ s slaves ran away. They fled to the city of Gath, and the king of the city, Achish son of Maacah, allowed them to stay there. When someone told Shimei that his slaves were in Gath, BSB BSB: After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
40 UST he traveled on his donkey to that city. He found his slaves staying with King Achish, and he took them back home with him. BSB BSB: So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.
41 UST But someone told King Solomon that Shimei had left Jerusalem and gone to Gath, even though he was now back in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned,
42 UST So the king sent a messenger to summon Shimei.{ When Shimei arrived,} he said to him,“I made you promise solemnly, with Yahweh as your witness, that you would not leave Jerusalem. I told you that you could be sure that I would execute you if you ever left Jerusalem to go anywhere else. And you replied to me,‘I agree, Your Majesty. I will do what you have said.’ BSB BSB: the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’
43 UST So you should have done what you solemnly promised to Yahweh! You should not have disobeyed what I commanded you!” BSB BSB: So why have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the command that I gave you?”
44 UST The king also said to Shimei,“You know quite well in your inner being what evil things you did to my father David. Now Yahweh is going to punish you for doing those evil things. BSB BSB: The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the LORD will bring your evil back upon your head.
45 UST But Yahweh will bless me, and he will always enable David’ s descendants to rule Israel.” BSB BSB: But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.”
46 UST Then the king ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute Shimei. Benaiah took him out of the palace and executed him with this sword.{ By executing Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei and exiling Abiathar,} Solomon obtained complete control of the kingdom of Israel. BSB BSB: Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.