1 Raja-raja 2:2-9

2:2 “I am about to die. ¹  Be strong and become a man! 2:3 Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you ²  by following his instructions ³  and obeying ⁴  his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, ⁵  2:4 and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, ⁶  ‘If your descendants watch their step ⁷  and live faithfully in my presence ⁸  with all their heart and being, ⁹  then,’ he promised, ¹⁰  ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ ¹¹ 

2:5 “You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. ¹²  During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; ¹³  when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. ¹⁴  2:6 Do to him what you think is appropriate, ¹⁵  but don’t let him live long and die a peaceful death. ¹⁶ 

2:7 “Treat fairly ¹⁷  the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs, ¹⁸  because they helped me ¹⁹  when I had to flee from your brother Absalom.

2:8 “Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, ²⁰  who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. ²¹  He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised ²²  him by the Lord, ‘I will not strike you down ²³  with the sword.’ 2:9 But now ²⁴  don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; ²⁵  make sure he has a bloody death.” ²⁶ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “going the way of all the earth.”

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “keep the charge of the Lord your God.”

[2:3]  ³ tn Heb “by walking in his ways.”

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Or “keeping.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there.”

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “then the Lord will establish his word which he spoke to me, saying.”

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “guard their way.”

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “by walking before me in faithfulness.”

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Or “soul.”

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “saying.”

[2:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “what he did to the two commanders…and he killed them.”

[2:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “he shed the blood of battle in peace.”

[2:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he shed the blood of battle when he killed which is on his waist and on his sandal[s] which are on his feet.” That is, he covered himself with guilt and his guilt was obvious to all who saw him.

[2:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “according to your wisdom.”

[2:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and do not bring down his grey hair in peace [to] Sheol.”

[2:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “do loyalty with”; or “act faithfully toward.”

[2:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and let them be among the ones who eat [at] your table.”

[2:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “drew near to.”

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Look, with you is Shimei….”

[2:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he cursed me with a horrible curse on the day I went to Mahanaim.”

[2:8]  ²² tn Or “swore an oath to.”

[2:8]  ²³ tn Heb “kill you.”

[2:9]  ²⁴ tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek and the Vulgate have here “you” rather than “now.” The two words are homonyms in Hebrew.

[2:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “what you should do to him.”

[2:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “bring his grey hair down in blood [to] Sheol.”