1 Kings 2

About 1 Kings 1 Kings follows Solomon's reign and temple, then the split of the kingdom and the prophet Elijah.

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,Selected1 Kings 2:1Ask

I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;Selected1 Kings 2:2Ask

And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:Selected1 Kings 2:3Ask

That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.Selected1 Kings 2:4Ask

Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.Selected1 Kings 2:5Ask

Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.Selected1 Kings 2:6Ask

But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.Selected1 Kings 2:7Ask

And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.Selected1 Kings 2:8Ask

Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.Selected1 Kings 2:9Ask

So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.Selected1 Kings 2:10Ask

And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.Selected1 Kings 2:11Ask

Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.Selected1 Kings 2:12Ask

And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.Selected1 Kings 2:13Ask

He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.Selected1 Kings 2:14Ask

And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD.Selected1 Kings 2:15Ask

And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.Selected1 Kings 2:16Ask

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.Selected1 Kings 2:17Ask

And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.Selected1 Kings 2:18Ask

Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.Selected1 Kings 2:19Ask

Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.Selected1 Kings 2:20Ask

And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.Selected1 Kings 2:21Ask

And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.Selected1 Kings 2:22Ask

Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.Selected1 Kings 2:23Ask

Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.Selected1 Kings 2:24Ask

And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.Selected1 Kings 2:25Ask

And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the LORD God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.Selected1 Kings 2:26Ask

So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.Selected1 Kings 2:27Ask

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.Selected1 Kings 2:28Ask

And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.Selected1 Kings 2:29Ask

And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.Selected1 Kings 2:30Ask

And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.Selected1 Kings 2:31Ask

And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.Selected1 Kings 2:32Ask

Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.Selected1 Kings 2:33Ask

So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.Selected1 Kings 2:34Ask

And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.Selected1 Kings 2:35Ask

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.Selected1 Kings 2:36Ask

For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.Selected1 Kings 2:37Ask

And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.Selected1 Kings 2:38Ask

And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.Selected1 Kings 2:39Ask

And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.Selected1 Kings 2:40Ask

And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.Selected1 Kings 2:41Ask

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.Selected1 Kings 2:42Ask

Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?Selected1 Kings 2:43Ask

The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;Selected1 Kings 2:44Ask

And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.Selected1 Kings 2:45Ask

So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.Selected1 Kings 2:46Ask

Read from the KJV text.

All 22 chapters of 1 Kings
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22