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Friday, September 12th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Read the Bible

King James Version (1611 Edition)

1 Kings 2:1

Now the dayes of Dauid drew nigh, that he should die, and he charged Solomon his sonne, saying;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Children;   David;   Death;   Will;   Thompson Chain Reference - Charges, Solemn;   Devout Fathers;   Fathers;   Home;   Leaders;   Religion;   Religious;   Solomon;   The Topic Concordance - Strength;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Preaching;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Solomon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Lily;   Shimei;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Adonijah;   Israel;   Reuben;   Solomon;   1910 New Catholic Dictionary - canticle;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Solomon;   Talent;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Da'vid;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;  

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,
Good News Translation
When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions:
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:
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 Now the dayes of Dauid drew nigh, that he should die, and he charged Solomon his sonne, saying; 2 I goe the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thy selfe a man. 3 And keepe the charge of the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, to keepe his Statutes, and his Commandements, & his Iudgements, and his Testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoeuer thou turnest thy selfe: 4 That the Lord may continue his word which hee spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heede to their way, to walke before mee in trueth, with all their heart, and with all their soule, there shall not faile thee (sayd hee) a man on the throne of Israel. 5 Moreouer thou knowest also what Ioab the sonne of Zeruiah did to mee, and what he did to the two captaines of the hostes of Israel, vnto Abner the sonne of Ner, and vnto Amasa the sonne of Iether, whom hee slewe, and shed the blood of warre in peace, and put the blood of warre vpon his girdle that was about his loynes, and in his shooes that were on his feet. 6 Doe therefore according to thy wisedome, and let not his hoare head goe downe to the graue in peace. 7 But shewe kindnesse vnto the sonnes of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eate 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 sonne of Gera, a Beniamite of Bahurim, which cursed mee with a grieuous curse, in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but hee came downe to meete me at Iordane, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9 Nowe therefore holde him not guiltlesse: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to doe vnto him, but his hoare head bring thou downe to the graue with blood. 10 So Dauid slept with his fathers, and was buried in the citie of Dauid.

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 God created the Heauen, and the Earth.
Genesis 1:10
And God called the drie land, Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called hee, Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seuenth day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his worke, which God created and made.
Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heauens, & of the earth, when they were created; in the day that the LORD God made the earth, and the heauens,
Genesis 2:5
And euery plant of the field, before it was in the earth, and euery herbe of the field, before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to raine vpon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden Eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 2:11
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Hauilah, where there is gold.
Genesis 2:13
And the name of the second riuer is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
Exodus 20:11
For in sixe dayes the Lord made heauen and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seuenth day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and halowed it.
Exodus 31:17
It is a signe betweene me and the children of Israel for euer: for in sixe dayes the Lord made heauen and earth, and on the seuenth day he rested, and was refreshed.

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


 
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