1 Kings 2:1

Good News Translation

When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions:

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
As the time approached for David to die, he ordered his son Solomon,

Hebrew Names Version
Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Shlomo his son, saying,

King James Version
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

English Standard Version
When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,

New Century Version
Since it was almost time for David to die, he gave his son Solomon his last commands.

New English Translation
When David was close to death, he told Solomon his son:

Amplified Bible
When David's time to die approached, he gave instructions to Solomon his son, saying,

New American Standard Bible
As David's time to die drew near, he commanded his son Solomon, saying,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the dayes of Dauid drewe neere that he should die, and hee charged Salomon his sonne, saying,

Legacy Standard Bible
Then David's time to die drew near, so he commanded Solomon his son, saying,

Contemporary English Version
Not long before David died, he told Solomon:

Complete Jewish Bible
The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows:

Darby Translation
And the days of David were at hand that he should die; and he enjoined Solomon his son saying,

Easy-to-Read Version
The time came for David to die, so he gave these commands to Solomon,

George Lamsa Translation
NOW the days of David to die drew near; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Lexham English Bible
The days of David came near for him to die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Literal Translation
And the days of David drew near for him to die. And he commanded his son Solomon, saying,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now whan the tyme came that Dauid shulde dye, he commaunded Salomon his sonne, and sayde:

American Standard Version
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Bible in Basic English
Now the time of David's death came near; and he gave orders to Solomon his son, saying,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The dayes of Dauid drew nie that he should dye, & he charged Solomon his sonne, saying:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying:

King James Version (1611)
Now the dayes of Dauid drew nigh, that he should die, and he charged Solomon his sonne, saying;

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the days of David drew near that he should die: and he addressed his son Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth:

English Revised Version
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Berean Standard Bible
As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe the daies of Dauid neiyiden, that he schulde die; and he comaundide to Salomon, his sone, and seide, Lo!

Young's Literal Translation
And draw near do the days of David to die, and he chargeth Solomon his son, saying,

Update Bible Version
Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Webster's Bible Translation
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

World English Bible
Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

New King James Version
Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying:

New Living Translation
As the time of King David's death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

New Life Bible
When David's time to die was near, he told his son Solomon,

New Revised Standard
When David's time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when the days of David drew near that he must die, he charged Solomon his son, saying: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged his son Solomon, saying:

Revised Standard Version
When David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

THE MESSAGE
When David's time to die approached, he charged his son Solomon, saying, "I'm about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you're made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you'll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go. Then God will confirm what he promised me when he said, ‘If your sons watch their step, staying true to me heart and soul, you'll always have a successor on Israel's throne.'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Contextual Overview

¹ When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: ² "My time to die has come. Be confident and determined, ³ and do what the Lord your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do. ⁴ If you obey him, the Lord will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul. ⁵ "There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men, and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I suffer the consequences. ⁶ You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death. ⁷ "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and take care of them, because they were kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom. ⁸ "There is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he met me at the Jordan River, I gave him my solemn promise in the name of the Lord that I would not have him killed. ⁹ But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death." ¹⁰ David died and was buried in David's City.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the days: Genesis 47:29, Deuteronomy 31:14, Deuteronomy 33:1, 2 Timothy 4:6, 2 Peter 1:13-15

charged: Numbers 27:19, Deuteronomy 3:28, Deuteronomy 31:23, Acts 20:28-31, 1 Timothy 1:18, 1 Timothy 6:13, 2 Timothy 4:1

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 7:12 - And when Psalms 72:1 - the king's Proverbs 23:24 - father

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, when God created the universe,

Genesis 1:10
He named the land "Earth," and the water which had come together he named "Sea." And God was pleased with what he saw.

Genesis 2:3
He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working.

Genesis 2:4
And that is how the universe was created. When the Lord God made the universe,

Genesis 2:5
there were no plants on the earth and no seeds had sprouted, because he had not sent any rain, and there was no one to cultivate the land;

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:11
The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah.

Genesis 2:13
The second river is the Gihon; it flows around the country of Cush.

Exodus 20:11
In six days I, the Lord , made the earth, the sky, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the Lord , blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.

Exodus 31:17
It is a permanent sign between the people of Israel and me, because I, the Lord , made heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped working and rested."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die,.... The number of his days fixed and determined by the Lord, Job 14:5; and which might be perceived as drawing nigh, both by himself and others, through the growing infirmities of old age, decline of nature, and various symptoms of an approaching dissolution which were upon him; see

Genesis 47:29. Abarbinel observes, that he is called only David, not King David; because Solomon his son was now anointed king, and reigned in his stead; so in 1 Kings 1:10; but there is another reason given by some Jews n, that no man, even a king, has power in the day of death; he is no king then, he has no rule over that, but that rules over him:

and he charged Solomon his son; gave him his last and dying charge:

saying; as follows.

n Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The events related in 1 Chr. 28–29 had occurred in the interval which separates the last and this present chapter.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER II

David leaves his dying charge with Solomon, relative to his own

personal conduct, 1-4;

to Joab, 5, 6;

to Barzillai, 7;

to Shimei, 8, 9.

He dies, and Solomon is established in the kingdom, 10-12.

Adonijah requests to have Abishag to wife, and is put to death

by Solomon, 13-25.

Abiathar the priest is banished to his estate at Anathoth,

26, 27.

Joab, fearing for his life, flees to the horns of the altar, and

is slain there by Benaiah, 28-34.

Benaiah is made captain of the host in his stead, 35.

Shimei is ordered to confine himself to Jerusalem, and never

leave it on pain of death, 36-38.

After three years he follows some of his runaway servants to

Gath, and thereby forfeits his life, 39, 40.

Solomon sends for him, upbraids him, and commands him to be

slain by Benaiah, 41-46.

NOTES ON CHAP. II