1 Kings 2:29-46

2:29 When King Solomon heard ¹  that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, ²  “Go, strike him down.” 2:30 When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But he replied, “No, I will die here!” So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab’s reply. ³  2:31 The king told him, “Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father’s family ⁴  the guilt of Joab’s murderous, bloody deeds. ⁵  2:32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; ⁶  behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he ⁷  – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 2:33 May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, ⁸  and his dynasty.” ⁹  2:34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; ¹⁰  he was buried at his home in the wilderness. 2:35 The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of ¹¹  the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place. ¹² 

2:36 Next the king summoned ¹³  Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem ¹⁴  and live there – but you may not leave there to go anywhere! ¹⁵  2:37 If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death.” ¹⁶  2:38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable. ¹⁷  Your servant will do as you say.” ¹⁸  So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. ¹⁹ 

2:39 Three years later two of Shimei’s servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your servants are in Gath.” 2:40 So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. 2:41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned, 2:42 the king summoned ²⁰  Shimei and said to him, “You will recall ²¹  that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere, ²²  know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’ ²³  2:43 Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?” ²⁴  2:44 Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. ²⁵  The Lord will punish you for what you did. ²⁶  2:45 But King Solomon will be empowered ²⁷  and David’s dynasty ²⁸  will endure permanently before the Lord.” 2:46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. ²⁹ 

So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. ³⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “and it was related to King Solomon.”

² tn Heb “so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying.”

³ tn Heb “saying, “In this way Joab spoke and in this way he answered me.”

⁴ tn Heb “house.”

⁵ tn Heb “take away the undeserved bloodshed which Joab spilled from upon me and from upon the house of my father.”

⁶ tn Heb “The Lord will cause his blood to return upon his head.”

⁷ tn Heb “because he struck down two men more innocent and better than he and he killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know.”

⁸ tn Heb “house.”

⁹ tn Heb “his throne.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “struck him and killed him.” The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “over.”

¹² tc The Old Greek translation includes after v. 35 some fourteen verses that are absent from the MT.

¹³ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

¹⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁵ tn Heb “and you may not go out from there here or there.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “your blood will be upon your head.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “so your servant will do.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “many days.”

²⁰ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

²¹ tn Heb “Is it not [true]…?” In the Hebrew text the statement is interrogative; the rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course it is.”

²² tn Heb “here or there.”

²³ tn Heb “good is the word; I have heard.”

²⁴ tn Heb “Why have you not kept the oath [to] the Lord and the commandment I commanded you?”

²⁵ tn Heb “You know all the evil, for your heart knows, which you did to David my father.”

²⁶ tn Heb “The Lord will cause your evil to return upon your head.”

²⁷ tn Or “blessed.”

²⁸ tn Heb “throne.”

²⁹ tn “The king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died.”

³⁰ tn “And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”