1
And the days of Daviyd drew near to die, and he commanded Shəlomah his son, saying:
2
“I am going in the way of all the earth. And you: be strong, and become an ish.
3
And guard the Charge of Yahuah your Elohim, to walk in His ways, to guard His statutes, His commandments, His Judgments, and His testimonies, as written in the Torah of Mosheh, so that you may act wisely in all that you do and wherever you turn,
4
so that Yahuah may establish His Word that He spoke concerning me, saying: ‘If your sons guard their way, to walk before My face in truth with all their heart and with all their being, saying, there shall not be cut off from you an ish from upon the Throne of Yisra’el.’
5
And you also know what Yoav son of Tzeruyah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the hosts of Yisra’el: to Avner son of Ner and to Amasa son of Yeter. And he killed them and shed the blood of war in shalom, and put the blood of war upon the belt that was upon his loins and upon the sandals that were upon his feet.
6
And you shall do according to your wisdom, and you shall not cause his gray hair to go down to Sheol in shalom.
7
But with the sons of Barzillai the Giladi you shall deal in Covenant-Faithfulness, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for thus they drew near to me when I fled from before Avshalom your brother.
8
And see, with you is Shimi son of Gera, the Binyamini from Bachurim, and he cursed me with a grievous curse on the day I went to Machanayim. But he came down to meet me at the Yarden, and I swore to him by Yahuah, saying: ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9
And now, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise ish, and you know what you shall do to him. And you shall cause his gray hair to go down to Sheol with blood.”
10
And Daviyd lay down with his fathers and was buried in the City of Daviyd.
11
And the days that Daviyd reigned over Yisra’el were forty years. In Chevron he reigned seven years, and in Yerushalayim he reigned thirty-three years.
12
And Shəlomah sat upon the Throne of Daviyd his father, and his Kingdom was firmly established.
13
And Adoniyah son of Chaggit came to Bat-Sheva, mother of Shəlomah. And she said, “Do you come in shalom?” And he said, “In shalom.”
14
And he said, “I have a word for you.” And she said, “Speak.”
15
And he said: “You know that the Kingdom was mine, and all Yisra’el set their face upon me that I should reign. But the Kingdom turned and became my brother’s, for from Yahuah it became his.
16
And now, one request I ask from you. Do not turn away my face.” And she said to him, “Speak.”
17
And he said: “Please speak to King Shəlomah—for he will not turn away your face—that he give me Avishag the Shunammit as ishah.”
18
And Bat-Sheva said, “Good. I myself will speak concerning you to the king.”
19
And Bat-Sheva came to King Shəlomah to speak to him concerning Adoniyah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed himself to her, and sat upon his Throne. And he set a throne for the mother of the king, and she sat at his right hand.
20
And she said: “One small request I ask from you. Do not turn away my face.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not turn away your face.”
21
And she said: “Let Avishag the Shunammit be given to Adoniyah your brother as ishah.”
22
And King Shəlomah answered and said to his mother: “And why do you ask Avishag the Shunammit for Adoniyah? Ask for him also the Kingdom, for he is my elder brother—for him, and for Evyatar the kohen, and for Yoav son of Tzeruyah.”
23
And King Shəlomah swore by Yahuah, saying: “Thus may Elohim do to me, and thus may He add, if Adoniyah has not spoken this word against his own being.
24
And now, as Yahuah lives, who has established me and caused me to sit upon the Throne of Daviyd my father, and who has made for me a House, according to what He spoke: surely Adoniyah shall be put to death this day.”
25
And King Shəlomah sent by the hand of Benayahu son of Yehoyada, and he fell upon him, and he died.
26
And to Evyatar the kohen the king said: “Go to Anatot, to your fields, for you are an ish of death. But on this day I will not put you to death, because you carried the ark of Adonai Yahuah before Daviyd my father, and because you were afflicted in all that my father was afflicted.”
27
And Shəlomah drove Evyatar away from being kohen to Yahuah, to fulfill the Word of Yahuah that He had spoken concerning the House of Eli in Shiloh.
28
And the report came to Yoav, for Yoav had turned after Adoniyah, though he had not turned after Avshalom. And Yoav fled to the Tent of Yahuah and took hold of the horns of the altar.
29
And it was declared to King Shəlomah: “Yoav has fled to the Tent of Yahuah, and see, he is beside the altar.” And Shəlomah sent Benayahu son of Yehoyada, saying: “Go; fall upon him.”
30
And Benayahu came to the Tent of Yahuah and said to him: “Thus says the king: ‘Come out.’” And he said: “No, for here I will die.” And Benayahu returned word to the king, saying: “Thus Yoav spoke, and thus he answered me.”
31
And the king said to him: “Do as he has spoken. Fall upon him and bury him, and turn away from me and from the House of my father the innocent blood that Yoav shed.
32
And Yahuah shall return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while Daviyd my father did not know: Avner son of Ner, commander of the host of Yisra’el, and Amasa son of Yeter, commander of the host of Yehudah.
33
And their blood shall return upon the head of Yoav and upon the head of his seed forever. But to Daviyd, and to his Seed, and to his House, and to his Throne, there shall be shalom forever from Yahuah.”
34
And Benayahu son of Yehoyada went up and fell upon him and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35
And the king set Benayahu son of Yehoyada over the host in his place, and the king set Tzadoq the kohen in the place of Evyatar.
36
And the king sent and called Shimi and said to him: “Build for yourself a house in Yerushalayim, and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere.
37
And it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the wadi Qidron, knowing, you shall surely know that dying, you shall surely die. Your blood shall be upon your own head.”
38
And Shimi said to the king: “The word is good. According to what my master the king has spoken, thus your servant will do.” And Shimi dwelt in Yerushalayim many days.
39
And it came to pass at the end of three years that two servants of Shimi fled to Akhish son of Maakhah, king of Gat. And they declared to Shimi, saying: “See, your servants are in Gat.”
40
And Shimi rose and saddled his donkey and went to Gat, to Akhish, to seek his servants. And Shimi went and brought his servants from Gat.
41
And it was declared to Shəlomah that Shimi had gone from Yerushalayim to Gat and had returned.
42
And the king sent and called Shimi and said to him: “Did I not cause you to swear by Yahuah, and testify against you, saying: ‘On the day you go out and walk anywhere, knowing, you shall surely know that dying, you shall surely die’? And you said to me: ‘The word I have heard is good.’
43
And why did you not guard the Oath of Yahuah and the commandment that I commanded concerning you?”
44
And the king said to Shimi: “You know all the evil that your heart knows, which you did to Daviyd my father. And Yahuah shall return your evil upon your own head.
45
But King Shəlomah shall be blessed, and the Throne of Daviyd shall be established before Yahuah forever.”
46
And the king commanded Benayahu son of Yehoyada, and he went out and fell upon him, and he died. And the Kingdom was established in the hand of Shəlomah.