1 Raja-raja 2:27-46

2:27 Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, ¹  fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli. ² 

2:28 When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported ³  Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he ⁴  ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵  2:29 When King Solomon heard ⁶  that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, ⁷  “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. ⁸  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 ⁹  the guilt of Joab’s murderous, bloody deeds. ¹⁰  2:32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; ¹¹  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 ¹²  – 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, ¹³  and his dynasty.” ¹⁴  2:34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place. ¹⁷ 

2:36 Next the king summoned ¹⁸  Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem ¹⁹  and live there – but you may not leave there to go anywhere! ²⁰  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.” ²¹  2:38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable. ²²  Your servant will do as you say.” ²³  So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. ²⁴ 

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 ²⁵  Shimei and said to him, “You will recall ²⁶  that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere, ²⁷  know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’ ²⁸  2:43 Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?” ²⁹  2:44 Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. ³⁰  The Lord will punish you for what you did. ³¹  2:45 But King Solomon will be empowered ³²  and David’s dynasty ³³  will endure permanently before the Lord.” 2:46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. ³⁴ 

So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. ³⁵ 

[2:27]  ¹ tn Heb “Solomon drove out Abiathar from being a priest to the Lord.”

[2:27]  ² tn Heb “fulfilling the word of the Lord which he spoke against the house of Eli in Shiloh.”

[2:28]  ³ tn Heb “turned after” (also later in this verse).

[2:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “Joab.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:28]  ⁵ sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Joab was seeking asylum from Solomon.

[2:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it was related to King Solomon.”

[2:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying.”

[2:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “saying, “In this way Joab spoke and in this way he answered me.”

[2:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[2:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “take away the undeserved bloodshed which Joab spilled from upon me and from upon the house of my father.”

[2:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The Lord will cause his blood to return upon his head.”

[2:32]  ¹² 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.”

[2:33]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.”

[2:33]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his throne.”

[2:34]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “struck him and killed him.” The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:35]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “over.”

[2:35]  ¹⁷ tc The Old Greek translation includes after v. 35 some fourteen verses that are absent from the MT.

[2:36]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[2:36]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:36]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and you may not go out from there here or there.”

[2:37]  ²¹ tn Heb “your blood will be upon your head.”

[2:38]  ²² tn Heb “Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken.”

[2:38]  ²³ tn Heb “so your servant will do.”

[2:38]  ²⁴ tn Heb “many days.”

[2:42]  ²⁵ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[2:42]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Is it not [true]…?” In the Hebrew text the statement is interrogative; the rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course it is.”

[2:42]  ²⁷ tn Heb “here or there.”

[2:42]  ²⁸ tn Heb “good is the word; I have heard.”

[2:43]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Why have you not kept the oath [to] the Lord and the commandment I commanded you?”

[2:44]  ³⁰ tn Heb “You know all the evil, for your heart knows, which you did to David my father.”

[2:44]  ³¹ tn Heb “The Lord will cause your evil to return upon your head.”

[2:45]  ³² tn Or “blessed.”

[2:45]  ³³ tn Heb “throne.”

[2:46]  ³⁴ tn “The king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died.”

[2:46]  ³⁵ tn “And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”