1 Kings 2

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 When the time of David's death drew near, he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:	1 Now the days of David had drawn near, so that he would die, and he instructed his son Solomon, saying:
2 "I am going the way of all mankind. Take courage and be a man.	2 “I am entering the way of all the earth. Be strengthened and be a good man.
3 Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn,	3 And observe the care of the Lord your God, so that you walk in his ways, so that you care for his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, just as it is written in the law of Moses. So may you understand everything that you do, in any direction that you may turn yourself.
4 and the LORD may fulfill the promise he made on my behalf when he said, 'If your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel.'	4 So may the Lord confirm his words, which he has spoken about me, saying: ‘If your sons will guard their ways, and if they will walk before me in truth, with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not be taken away from you a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 You yourself know what Joab, son of Zeruiah, did to me when he slew the two generals of Israel's armies, Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of Jether. He took revenge for the blood of war in a time of peace, and put bloodshed without provocation on the belt about my waist and the sandal on my foot.	5 Also, you know what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, has done to me, what he did to the two leaders of the army of Israel, to Abner, the son of Ner, and to Amasa, the son of Jether. He killed them, and so he shed the blood of war in peace time, and he set the bloodshed of battle on his belt, which was around his waist, and in his shoes, which were on his feet.
6 Act with the wisdom you possess; you must not allow him to go down to the grave in peaceful old age.	6 Therefore, act according to your wisdom. And you shall not allow his gray head to be led away to death in peace.
7 "But be kind to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and have them eat at your table. For they received me kindly when I was fleeing your brother Absalom.	7 Then, too, repay grace to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite. And you shall allow them to eat at your table. For they met me when I fled from the face of Absalom, your brother.
8 "You also have with you Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me balefully when I was going to Mahanaim. Because he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD that I would not put him to the sword.	8 Also, you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went away to the camp. And he descended to meet me when I crossed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death by the sword,’
9 But you must not let him go unpunished. You are a prudent man and will know how to deal with him to send down his hoary head in blood to the grave."	9 yet do not choose to treat him as if he were innocent. Since you are a wise man, you will know what to do with him. And you shall lead away his grey hair to death with blood.”
10 David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.	10 And so, David slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David.
11 The length of David's reign over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.	11 Now the days during which David reigned over Israel are forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron, thirty-three in Jerusalem.
12 When Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David, with his sovereignty firmly established,	12 Then Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was strengthened exceedingly.
13 Adonijah, son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. "Do you come as a friend?" she asked. "Yes," he answered,	13 And Adonijah, the son of Haggith, entered to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said to him, “Is your entrance peaceful?” He responded, “It is peaceful.”
14 and added, "I have something to say to you." She replied, "Say it."	14 And he added, “My word is for you.” She said to him, “Speak.” And he said:
15 So he said: "You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel expected me to be king. But the kingdom escaped me and became my brother's, for the LORD gave it to him.	15 “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all of Israel had preferred me for themselves as king. But the kingdom was transferred, and has become my brother’s. For it was appointed to him by the Lord.
16 But now there is one favor I would ask of you. Do not refuse me." And she said, "Speak on."	16 Now therefore, I beg of you one petition. May you not confound my face.” And she said to him, “Speak.”
17 He said, "Please ask King Solomon, who will not refuse you, to give me Abishag the Shunamite for my wife."	17 And he said: “I beg that you may speak to king Solomon, for he is not able to refuse anything to you, so that he may give Abishag the Shunammite to me as wife.”
18 "Very well," replied Bathsheba, "I will speak to the king for you."	18 And Bathsheba said: “It is well. I will speak to the king on your behalf.”
19 Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king's mother, who sat at his right.	19 Then Bathsheba went to king Solomon, so that she might speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and he reverenced her, and he sat down upon his throne. And a throne was stationed for the mother of the king, and she sat at his right hand.
20 "There is one small favor I would ask of you," she said. "Do not refuse me." "Ask it, my mother," the king said to her, "for I will not refuse you."	20 And she said to him: “I petition one small request from you. May you not confound my face.” And the king said to her: “Ask, my mother. For it is not right that I turn away your face.”
21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunamite be given to your brother Adonijah for his wife."	21 And she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, your brother, as wife.”
22 "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunamite for Adonijah?" King Solomon answered his mother. "Ask the kingdom for him as well, for he is my elder brother and has with him Abiathar the priest and Joab, son of Zeruiah."	22 And king Solomon responded, and he said to his mother: “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Why not request the kingdom for him! For he is my older brother, and he has Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Zeruiah.”
23 And King Solomon swore by the LORD: "May God do thus and so to me, and more besides, if Adonijah has not proposed this at the cost of his life.	23 And so king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying: “May God do these things to me, and may he add these other things! For Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life.
24 And now, as the LORD lives, who has seated me firmly on the throne of my father David and made of me a dynasty as he promised, this day shall Adonijah be put to death."	24 And now, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and placed me upon the throne of my father David, and who, just as he said, has made a house for me: Adonijah shall be put to death this day.”
25 Then King Solomon sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who struck him dead.	25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who put him to death, and so he died.
26 The king said to Abiathar the priest: "Go to your land in Anathoth. Though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David and shared in all the hardships my father endured."	26 Also, the king said to Abiathar, the priest: “Go into Anathoth, to your own land, for you are a man worthy of death. But I will not put you to death this day, since you carried the ark of the Lord God before David, my father, and since you have endured hardship in all the things, for which my father labored.”
27 So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his office of priest of the LORD, thus fulfilling the prophecy which the LORD had made in Shiloh about the house of Eli.	27 Therefore, Solomon cast out Abiathar, so that he would not be the priest of the Lord, so that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke over the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28 When the news came to Joab, who had sided with Adonijah, though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and seized the horns of the altar.	28 And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned aside after Adonijah, and he had not turned aside after Solomon. And so, Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and he took hold of the horn of the altar.
29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was at the altar. He sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, with the order, "Go, strike him down."	29 And it was reported to king Solomon that Joab had fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and that he was beside the altar. And Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, put him to death.”
30 Benaiah went to the tent of the LORD and said to him, "The king says, 'Come out.'" But he answered, "No! I will die here." Benaiah reported to the king, "This is what Joab said to me in reply."	30 And Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and he said to him: “The king says this: ‘Come out.’ ” But he said: “I will not come out. Instead, I will die here.” Benaiah sent word back to the king, saying, “Joab said this, and he responded to me in this way.”
31 The king answered him: "Do as he has said, Strike him down and bury him, and you will remove from me and from my family the blood which Joab shed without provocation.	31 And the king said to him, “Do just as he has said. And put him to death, and bury him. And so shall you take away the innocent blood, which was shed by Joab, from me and from my father’s house.
32 The LORD will hold him responsible for his own blood, because he struck down two men better and more just than himself, and slew them with the sword without my father David's knowledge: Abner, son of Ner, general of Israel's army, and Amasa, son of Jether, general of Judah's army.	32 And the Lord shall repay his blood upon his own head. For he killed two men, just and better than himself, and he killed them with the sword, while my father, David, did not know it: Abner, the son of Ner, leader of the military of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, leader of the army of Judah.
33 Joab and his descendants shall be responsible forever for their blood. But there shall be the peace of the LORD forever for David, and his descendants, and his house, and his throne."	33 And their blood shall be turned back upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his offspring forever. But as for David, and his offspring and house, and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord, even unto eternity.”
34 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, went back, struck him down and killed him; he was buried in his house in the desert.	34 And so Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and, attacking him, put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the desert.
35 The king appointed Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, over the army in his place, and put Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.	35 And the king appointed Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his place over the army. And he appointed Zadok, the priest, in place of Abiathar.
36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him: "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there. Do not go anywhere else.	36 Also, the king sent for and summoned Shimei, and he said to him: “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and live there. And do not depart from that place to here or to there.
37 For if you leave, and cross the Kidron Valley, be certain you shall die without fail. You shall be responsible for your own blood."	37 For on whatever day you will have departed and crossed the torrent Kidron, know that you shall be put to death. Your blood will be upon your own head.”
38 Shimei answered the king: "I accept. Your servant will do just as the king's majesty has said." So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.	38 And Shimei said to the king: “The word is good. Just as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” And so Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.
39 But three years later, two of Shimei's servants ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was informed that his servants were in Gath.	39 But it happened that, after three years, the servants of Shimei fled to Achish, the son of Maacah, the king of Gath. And it was reported to Shimei that his servants had gone away to Gath.
40 So Shimei rose, saddled his ass, and went to Achish in Gath in search of his servants, whom he brought back.	40 And Shimei rose up, and he saddled his donkey. And went away to Achish in Gath, in order to seek his servants. And he led them away from Gath.
41 When Solomon was informed that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned,	41 And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone away from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.
42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him: "Did I not have you swear by the LORD to your clear understanding of my warning that, if you left and went anywhere else, you should die without fail? And you answered, 'I accept and obey.'	42 And sending, he summoned him, and he said to him: “Did I not testify to you by the Lord, and warn you in advance, ‘On whatever day, having departed, you go forth to here or to there, know that you shall die?’ And you responded to me, ‘The word that I have heard is good.’
43 Why, then, have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the command that I gave you?"	43 Then why have you not kept the oath to the Lord, and the commandment which I instructed to you?”
44 And the king said to Shimei: "You know in your heart the evil that you did to my father David. Now the LORD requites you for your own wickedness.	44 And the king said to Shimei: “You know all the evil, of which your heart is conscious, which you did to David, my father. The Lord has repaid your wickedness upon your own head.”
45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and David's throne shall endure before the LORD forever."	45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord, even forever.
46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who struck him dead as he left.	46 And so the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And going out, he struck him down, and he died.