1 Kings 2:23–46

²³Then 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. ²⁴And 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!”

²⁵So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

²⁶Then 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.” ²⁷So 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.

²⁸When 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.

²⁹It 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!”

³⁰And 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.”

³¹And 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. ³²The 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. ³³Their 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.”

³⁴So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness. ³⁵And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

³⁶Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. ³⁷On 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“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.

³⁹After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah,^d king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”

⁴⁰So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.

⁴¹When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, ⁴²the 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.’ ⁴³So why have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the command that I gave you?”

⁴⁴The 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. ⁴⁵But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.”

⁴⁶Then 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.