Passage

1 Kings 2.1-10

Book: 1 Kings · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2. I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; 3. and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself. 4. That Jehovah may establish 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. 5. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even 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. 6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. 7. But show 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 from Absalom thy brother. 8. And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I sware to him by Jehovah, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9. Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood. 10. And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David."

"11. 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. 12. And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly." (1 Kings 2:1-12, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Now the days of David came near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2. “I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; 3. and keep the instruction of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself. 4. Then Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5. “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6. Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8. “Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9. Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” 10. David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city."

"11. The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12. Solomon sat on David his father’s throne; and his kingdom was firmly established." (1 Kings 2:1-12, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2. I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; 3. 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: ^{prosper: or, do wisely} 4. 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. ^{fail: Heb. be cut off from thee from the throne} 5. 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. ^{shed: Heb. put} 6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. 7. 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. 8. 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. ^{grievous: Heb. strong} 9. 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. 10. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David."

"11. 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. 12. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly." (1 Kings 2:1-12, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And draw near do the days of David to die, and he chargeth Solomon his son, saying, 2. 'I am going in the way of all the earth, and thou hast been strong, and become a man, 3. and kept the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that thou dost wisely all that thou dost, and whithersoever thou turnest, 4. so that Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake unto me, saying, If thy sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, There is not cut off a man of thine from the throne of Israel. 5. 'And also, thou hast known that which he did to me, Joab son of Zeruiah, that which he did to two heads of the hosts of Israel, to Abner son of Ner, and to Amasa son of Jether, that he slayeth them, and maketh the blood of war in peace, and putteth the blood of war in his girdle, that [is] on his loins, and in his sandals that [are] on his feet; 6. and thou hast done according to thy wisdom, and dost not let his old age go down in peace to Sheol. 7. 'And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother. 8. 'And lo, with thee [is] Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, and he reviled me, a grievous reviling, in the day of my going to Mahanaim; and he hath come down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swear to him by Jehovah, saying, I do not put thee to death by the sword; 9. and now, acquit him not, for a wise man thou [art], and thou hast known that which thou dost to him, and hast brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.' 10. And David lieth down with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David,"

"11. and the days that David hath reigned over Israel [are] forty years, in Hebron he hath reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he hath reigned thirty and three years. 12. And Solomon hath sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom is established greatly," (1 Kings 2:1-12, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

H4191 - mut

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.