David’s Instructions to Solomon

1 ⁿWhen David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 ^o“I am about to go the way of all the earth. ^pBe strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, ^qthat you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 that the Lord may ^restablish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ^s‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, ^tto walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, ^uyou shall not lack¹ a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah ^vdid to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, ^wAbner the son of Ner, ^xand Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging² in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war³ on the belt around his⁴ waist and on the sandals on his feet. 6 Act therefore ^yaccording to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But deal loyally with the sons of ^zBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be ^aamong those who eat at your table, ^bfor with such loyalty⁵ they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 And there is also with you ^cShimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day ^dwhen I went to Mahanaim. ^eBut when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, ^ffor you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall ^gbring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”

The Death of David

10 ^hThen David slept with his fathers and was buried in ⁱthe city of David. 11 And the time that David reigned over Israel was ^jforty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 ^kSo Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

Solomon’s Reign Established

13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, ^l“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” 15 He said, “You know that ^mthe kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, ⁿfor it was his from the Lord. 16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” 17 And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me ^oAbishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, ^pand she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 She said, “Let ^oAbishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask ^oAbishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, ^qfor he is my older brother, and on his side ^rare Abiathar⁶ the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, ^s“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24 Now therefore ^tas the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, ^uas he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon sent ^vBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.

26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to ^wAnathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, ^xbecause you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, ^yand because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” 27 ^zSo Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling ^athe word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab ^bhad supported Adonijah although ^che had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the ^dhorns of the altar. 29 And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king replied to him, ^e“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, ^fand thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32 The Lord will ^gbring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men ^hmore righteous and better than himself, ⁱAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^jAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 ^gSo shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 ^kThe king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put ^lZadok the priest ^min the place of Abiathar.

36 Then the king sent and summoned ⁿShimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37 For on the day you go out and cross ^othe brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. ^pYour blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

39 But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to ^qAchish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” 40 Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, 42 the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43 Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart ^rall the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will ^sbring back your harm on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, ^tand the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.

^uSo the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ^mAscents. Of David.

Godlessness in the Last Days

1 But understand this, that ^yin the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be ^zlovers of self, ^alovers of money, ^bproud, ^barrogant, abusive, ^bdisobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 ^cheartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, ^dnot loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, ^eswollen with conceit, ^flovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but ^gdenying its power. ^hAvoid such people. 6 For among them are ⁱthose who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to ^jarrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as ^kJannes and Jambres ^lopposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, ^mmen corrupted in mind and ⁿdisqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, ^oas was that of those two men.

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

10 ^pYou, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me ^qat Antioch, ^rat Iconium, and ^sat Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet ^tfrom them all ^uthe Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to ^vlive a godly life in Christ Jesus ^wwill be persecuted, 13 while ^xevil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and ^ybeing deceived. 14 But as for you, ^zcontinue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom¹ you learned it 15 and how ^afrom childhood you have been acquainted with ^bthe sacred writings, ^cwhich are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 ^dAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that ^ethe man of God² may be complete, ^fequipped ^gfor every good work.

Preach the Word

1 ^hI charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ⁱwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by ^jhis appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^kreprove, rebuke, and ^lexhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 ^mFor the time is coming when people will not endure ⁿsound³ teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and ^owill turn away from listening to the truth and ^pwander off into myths. 5 As for you, ^qalways be sober-minded, ^rendure suffering, do the work of ^san evangelist, ^tfulfill your ministry.

6 For ^uI am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ^vdeparture has come. 7 ^wI have fought the good fight, ^xI have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ^ylaid up for me ^zthe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, ^athe righteous judge, will award to me on ^bthat day, and not only to me but also to all ^cwho have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

9 ^dDo your best to come to me soon. 10 For ^eDemas, ^fin love with ^gthis present world, ^hhas deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,^{4 i}Titus to Dalmatia. 11 ^hLuke alone is with me. Get ^jMark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 ^kTychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 ^lAlexander the coppersmith did me great harm; ^mthe Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. ⁿMay it not be charged against them! 17 But ^othe Lord stood by me and ^pstrengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and ^qall the Gentiles might hear it. So ^rI was rescued ^sfrom the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. ^tTo him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

19 Greet ^uPrisca and Aquila, and ^vthe household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left ^wTrophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 ^xDo your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.⁵

22 The Lord be ^ywith your spirit. ^zGrace be with you.⁶