Adonijah’s Request to Marry Abishag |
1 Kings 2:1-46 1 Kings [in Smaller Chunks] |
The [day] drew [near] to [when king] David should die & he [commanded] his son, Solomon, saying, I’m [about to die, as all do]. Be strong & show yourself a man. |
Keep the [commands] of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His [laws,] commandments, judgments & His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, [so] you may prosper in all you [do,wherever] you [go]. |
[So] that the Lord may continue His word [that] He spoke to me, saying, If your children [pay attention] to their [actions] & walk before Me in truth with all their heart & all their soul, (He said,) There shall not fail [to be a man of your family] on the throne of Israel. |
[Also,] know what Joab, [Zeruiah’s] son, did to me & to the 2 captains of the [army] of Israel: Abner, [Ner’s] son, & Amasa, [Jether’s] son, whom he [killed] & shed the blood of war in [peace time]. |
Put the blood of war on his belt on his waist & in his shoes on his feet. Do according to your wisdom & don’t let his [gray head] go down to the grave in peace. |
But show kindness [to] Barzillai, the Gileadite & let him eat at your table, for he came to me [with food & supplies] when I fled, because of Absalom, your brother. |
[Look,] you have with you, Shimei, [Gera’s] son, a Benjamite of Bahurim, [who] cursed me [terribly on] the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at [the] Jordan [River,] I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I won’t put you to death with the sword, but don’t hold him guiltless. |
For you are a wise man & know what you ought to do to him, but bring his [gray head] down to the grave with blood. So David [died] & slept with his [forefathers] & was buried in the city of David. |
[King] David [ruled] over Israel [for] 40 years. 7 years he [ruled] in Hebron & 33 years he [ruled] in Jerusalem. Solomon, sat upon the throne of David, his father & his kingdom was established [magnificently]. |
Adonijah [David’s other brother born to] Haggith, came to Bathsheba, [Solomon’s] mother. She asked, [Did] you come [peacefully]? He said, [Peacefully]. He [also] said, I have [something] to say to you. |
[Bathsheba] told him [to continue speaking]. [Adonijah] said, You know that the kingdom was mine & all Israel [had looked to me, to rule]. [However] the kingdom [has] turned [around & has] become my brother’s: for it was his from the Lord. Now, I ask a favor of you. Don’t deny me. |
[Bathsheba] said, [Continue]. [Adonijah] said, I pray that you speak to king Solomon, (for he won’t say [no] to you,) [so] he will give me Abishag, the Shunammite to [marry]. Bathsheba said, I will speak to the king for you. |
Therefore, Bathsheba went to king Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king, who [was sitting] on his throne, [stood] up to [greet] her & bowed to her. [He had] a seat [put there] for the king’s mother & she sat at his right hand. |
Then, she said, I have a small [favor to ask] of you. I pray you don’t say [no] to me. The king said, [Continue, my mother, for I won’t say [no] to you. She said, Let Abishag, the Shunammite, be given to Adonijah, your brother, to marry. |
King Solomon answered his mother & said, [Why do] you ask [for] Abishag, the Shunammite, for Adonijah? [Do] you also ask for the kingdom, for he is my elder brother; [does he also want] Abiathar, the priest & Joab [Zeruiah’s] son? |
Then, king Solomon swore by the Lord saying, If Adonijah hasn’t [requested] this against his own life, God do so to me & more also, as the Lord [lives who] has established me & [put] me on my father, [David’s,] throne. |
[The Lord God] has [given the kingdom to me & to future generations like] He promised. Adonijah shall be put to death this day. King Solomon sent Benaiah, [Jehoiada’s] son & he [struck down Adonijah] & he died. |
King [Solomon] said to Abiathar, the priest, [Go] to Anathoth, to your own field; for you are worthy of death. But I won’t put you to death at this time, because you [carried] the Ark of the Lord God before my father, David & you [suffered through all] my father [suffered through]. |
So, Solomon [stopped] Abiathar from being [a] priest to the Lord, so he might fulfill the word of the Lord, [that] He spoke [about] the house of Eli in Shiloh. Then [news] came to Joab, for Joab [had followed] Adonijah, [although he didn’t follow] Absalom. |
Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord & [grabbed] hold [of] the horns on the altar. King Solomon was told that Joab [had] fled into the tabernacle of the Lord & is by the altar. |
Then, Solomon sent Benaiah, [Jehoiada’s] son, saying, Go, [strike him down]. Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord & said, The king has said, Come [out]. But [Joab] said, [No,] I will die here. |
Benaniah told the king [what Joab said to him]. King Solomon said to [Benaiah,] Do as he said & [Strike him down] & bury him, [so] you may take away the innocent blood [that] Joab shed, from me & from the house of my father. |
The Lord shall return his blood on [Joab’s] own head, who [struck down] 2 men more righteous & better than he [is,] Abner, [Ner’s] son, captain of the [army] of Israel & Amasa, [Jethro’s] son & captain of the [army] of Judah & [killed] them with the sword. |
My father, David, didn’t know [about] it. Their blood shall be [returned] upon the head of Joab & his [descendants] forever. But there shall be peace upon David & his [descendants,] his house & his throne forever from the Lord. |
So, Benaiah, [Jehoida’s] son, went up & [struck down Joab & killed ] him & he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. King [Solomon] put Benaiah, [Johoiada’s] son, in [Joab’s position] over the [army]. |
The king put Zadok, the priest, in [place of] Abiathar. King [Solomon] sent for Shimei & said to him, Build a house for you in Jerusalem & [live] there, but don’t [go out of there]. |
It shall be on the day [that] you go out & pass over the Brook Kidron, you shall know for certain, you shall surely die & your blood will be on your own head. Shimei said to the king, [This is] good & I will do as my lord, the king, has said & my servants will do so, [also]. |
Shimei [lived] in Jerusalem [a long time]. At the end of 3 years, 2 of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish, [Maachah’s] son, king of Gath. Shimei arose & saddled his [mule] & went to Gath to Achish to [find] his servants & brought his servants [back] from Gath. |
Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath & had come [back]. King [Solomon] sent for Shimei & said to him, Didn’t I make you swear by the Lord & [warned] you, saying, Know for certain, on the day you go out & walk [elsewhere,] you shall surely die? |
You said to me, The word I have heard is good. Why haven’t you kept the oath of the Lord & the [command] I charged you with? The king [also] said to Shimei, You know all the wickedness of your heart, that you did to David, my father. |
Therefore, the Lord shall return your wickedness upon your own head. King Solomon & the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever. King [Solomon] commanded Benaiah, [Jehoiada’s] son, [who] went out & [struck him down] & he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. |