1 Kings 2:2

Myles Coverdale Bible

I go the waye of all the worlde, Be thou stroge therfore, and shewe thyselfe a man,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth. Be strong and be a man,

Hebrew Names Version
I am going the way of all the eretz: be you strong therefore, and show yourself a man;

King James Version
I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

English Standard Version
"I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,

New Century Version
David said, "My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader.

New English Translation
"I am about to die. Be strong and become a man!

Amplified Bible
"I am going the way of all the earth [as dust to dust]. Be strong and prove yourself a man.

New American Standard Bible
"I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong, and prove yourself a man.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I go the way of all the earth: be strong therefore, and shew thy selfe a man,

Legacy Standard Bible
"I am going the way of all the earth. So you shall be strong, and be a man.

Contemporary English Version
My son, I will soon die, as everyone must. But I want you to be strong and brave.

Complete Jewish Bible
"I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man.

Darby Translation
I go the way of all the earth: be of good courage therefore, and be a man;

Easy-to-Read Version
"I am about to die, like all men must. But you are growing stronger and becoming a man.

George Lamsa Translation
I go the way of all the earth; be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;

Good News Translation
"My time to die has come. Be confident and determined,

Lexham English Bible
"I am about to go the way of all the world. Be strong and be courageous.

Literal Translation
I am going in the way of all the earth. And you be strong, and be a man,

American Standard Version
I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;

Bible in Basic English
I am going the way of all the earth: so be strong and be a man;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I go the way of al the earth, be thou strong therfore, & shewe thy selfe a man.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
'I go the way of all the earth; be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;

King James Version (1611)
I goe the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thy selfe a man.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
but be thou strong, and shew thyself a man;

English Revised Version
I go the way of all the earth: he thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

Berean Standard Bible
"I am about to go the way of all of the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y entre in to the weie of al erthe; be thou coumfortid, and be thou a strong man.

Young's Literal Translation
`I am going in the way of all the earth, and thou hast been strong, and become a man,

Update Bible Version
I am going the way of all the earth: be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;

Webster's Bible Translation
I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;

World English Bible
I am going the way of all the earth: be you strong therefore, and show yourself a man;

New King James Version
"I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.

New Living Translation
"I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man.

New Life Bible
"I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong. Show yourself to be a man.

New Revised Standard
"I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I, am going the way of all the earth, - thou must be strong, therefore, and show thyself a man;

Douay-Rheims Bible
I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage and shew thyself a man.

Revised Standard Version
"I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.

Contextual Overview

¹ Now whan the tyme came that Dauid shulde dye, he commaunded Salomon his sonne, and sayde: ² I go the waye of all the worlde, Be thou stroge therfore, and shewe thyselfe a man, ³ and kepe the watch of the LORDE thy God, that thou walke in his wayes, and holde his ordinaunces, his commaundementes, his lawes, and his testimonies, as it is written in the lawe of Moses, that thou mayest be wyse in all that thou doest, and whither so euer thou turnest the: ⁴ that the LORDE maye rayse vp his worde, which he hath spoke ouer me, and saide: Yf thy children kepe their waye and walke before me faithfully and truly and with all their hert and withall their soule, the shal there neuer fayle the a man vpon the seate of Israel. ⁵ Thou knowest well also what Ioab the sonne of Zeru Ia hath done vnto me, what he dyd vnto the two chefe captaynes of Israel, Abner the sonne of Ner, and Amasa the sonne of Iether, whom he slewe and shed the bloude of warre wha it was peace, & put the bloude of warre vpon his girdel yt was aboute his loynes, and in his shues that were vpon his fete: ⁶ Do thou acordynge to thy wy?dome, that thou brynge not his graye heer downe to the graue in peace. ⁷ And to the children of Barsyllai the Gileadite, thou shalt shewe mercy, that they maye eate at thy table. For so ioined they the selues vnto me, whan I fled before thy brother Absalom. ⁸ And beholde, thou hast with the Semei the sonne of Gera the sonne of Iemini of Bahurim, which cursed me with very bytter and shamefull cursynges, what tyme as I wente to Mahanaim. Yet came he downe to mete me at Iordan, where I sware vnto him by the LORDE, and sayde: I wyll not slaye the with the swerde. ⁹ But suffre not thou him to be vngiltye, for thou art a wyse man, and shalt wel knowe what thou oughtest to do vnto him, that thou mayest brynge his graye heer downe to the graue with bloude. ¹⁰ So Dauid slepte with his fathers, and was buried in the cite of Dauid.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I go: Joshua 23:14, Job 16:22, Job 30:23, Psalms 89:48, Hebrews 9:27

be thou: Deuteronomy 17:19, Deuteronomy 17:20, Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:6, Joshua 1:7, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Ephesians 6:10, 2 Timothy 2:1

and show: 1 Kings 3:7, 2 Samuel 10:12, Ecclesiastes 12:13, 1 Corinthians 16:13, 1 Timothy 4:12

Reciprocal: Genesis 48:21 - Behold 1 Chronicles 28:7 - constant 1 Timothy 3:15 - know 2 Peter 1:14 - shortly

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
And God behelde all yt he had made, and lo, they were exceadinge good. Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the sixte daye.

Genesis 2:8
The LORDE God also planted a garde of pleasure in Eden, towarde ye east, and set man therin whom he had made.

Genesis 2:11
The first is called Phison, which renneth aboute all the londe of Heuyla.

Exodus 23:12
Sixe dayes shalt thou do thy worke, but vpon the seuenth daye thou shalt kepe holy daye, that thine oxe and Asse maye rest, and that the sonne of thy handmayden and the straunger maye refresh them selues.

Exodus 31:17
An euerlastynge token is it betwixte me and the children of Israel. For in sixe dayes made the LORDE heaue & earth, but vpon ye seuenth daye he rested, and was refreshed.

Deuteronomy 5:14
but vpon the seuenth daye it is the Sabbath of the LORDE thy God: No maner worke shalt thou do in it, thou, and thy sonne, and thy doughter, and thy seruaunt, and thy mayde, and thine oxe, and thine Asse, and all thy catell, and the straunger which is within thy gates, that thy seruaunt and thy mayde maye rest as well as thou.

Isaiah 58:13
Yee yf thou turne thy fete from the Sabbath, so that thou do not the thinge which pleaseth thyself in my holy daye: then shalt thou be called vnto the pleasaunt, holy & glorious Sabbath of the LORDE, where thou shalt be in honor: so yt thou do not after thine owne ymaginacion, nether seke thine owne wil, ner speake thine owne wordes.

John 5:17
But Iesus answered them: My father worketh hither to, and I worke also.

Hebrews 4:4
For he spake in a certayne place of the seueth daye, on this wyse: And God rested on the seuenth daye from all his workes.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I go the way of all the earth,.... A path which is the path of death o, which all pass in, kings and peasants, high and low, rich and poor, great and small, good and bad; none are exempted, all must die, and do; it is the appointment of God, a decree which can never be reversed; all experience confirms it: this same phrase is used by Joshua, from whom David seems to have borrowed it, and shows that that book was written in his days, Joshua 23:14;

be thou strong therefore; not discouraged at my death, being a common thing, and to be expected; nor at being left alone, the Lord can give thee wisdom and counsel, assistance and strength, protection, and defence; take heart therefore, and be of good courage:

and show thyself a man; in wisdom and understanding, and in fortitude of mind, though so young a man; which were necessary for the government of so great a people, and to guard against the secret intrigues of some, and the open flatteries of others, and the fear of attempts against his person and government, and the temptations he might be liable to, to do wrong things; and especially they were necessary to enable him to keep the commands of God, as follows; which required great strength of mind and of grace, considering the corruptions of nature, the temptations of Satan, and the snares of men; see Joshua 1:7.

o "------ omnes una manet nox, Et calcanda semel via lethi". Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 28. ver. 15, 16.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

David appears to have in his thoughts the divine address to Joshua. Without following it servilely, he reproduces several of its leading expressions and sentiments (compare the margin reference). Solomon’s youth clearly constituted one of the chief difficulties of his position. If he was about nineteen or twenty, and known to be of a pacific disposition 1 Chronicles 22:9, then to have to rule over the warlike and turbulent Hebrew nation, with a strong party opposed to him, and brothers of full age ready to lead it, was evidently a most difficult task. Hence, he is exhorted, though in years a boy, to show himself in Spirit “a man.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 2:2. I go the way of all the earth — I am dying. All the inhabitants of the earth must come to the dust. In life, some follow one occupation, some another; but all must, sooner or later, come to the grave. Death is no respecter of persons; he visits the palace of the king as well as the cottage of the peasant.

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,

Regumque turres.

- HOR. Odar. lib. i., od. iv., ver. 13.

"With equal pace, impartial fate

Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate."

FRANCIS.

_________ Sed omnes una manet nox,

Et calcanda semel via lethi.

- Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 15.

"One dreary night for all mankind remains,

And once we all must tread the shadowy plains."

Ibid.

There is no respect to age or youth more than to station or external circumstance: -

Mixta senum ac juvenum densantur funera: nullum

Saeva caput Proserpina fugit.

- Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 19.

Thus age and youth promiscuous crowd the tomb;

No mortal head can shun the impending doom."

Ibid.

And it is not merely man that is subjected to this necessity; all that have in them the breath of life must lose it; it is the way of all the earth, both of men and inferior animals.

__________ Terrestria quando

Mortales animas vivunt sortita, neque ulla est

Aut parvo aut magno lethi fuga.

Vive memor quam sis aevi brevis.

HOR. Sat. l. ii., s. vi., ver. 93.

"All that tread the earth are subject to mortality; neither great nor small can avoid death. Live therefore conscious that your time is short."

It is painful to the pride of the great and mighty that, however decorated their tombs may be, they must undergo the same dissolution and corruption with the vulgar dead; for the grave is the house appointed for all living: man is born to die.

Omnium idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium.

"For all have the same end, and are huddled together in the same narrow house."

Here emperors, kings, statesmen, warriors, heroes, and butchers of all kinds, with peasants and beggars, meet; however various their routes, they terminate in the same point. This and all other kindred sentiments on the subject are well expressed in that excellent little poem of Mr. Blair, entitled THE GRAVE, which opens with the following lines: -

While some affect the sun, and some the shade;

Some flee the city, some the hermitage;

Their aims as various as the roads they take

In journeying through life; the task be mine

To paint the gloomy horrors of the tomb,

The appointed place of rendezvous, where all

These travellers meet.

Show thyself a man — Act like a rational being, and not like a brute; and remember, that he acts most like a man who is most devoted to his GOD.