Study Desk

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. When Solomon saw her, he stood up to meet her, then bowed down, and sat on the throne. He told some servants to bring another throne for his mother. Then she sat down at his right side.

So she said, "Allow Abishag the Shunammite to marry your brother Adonijah."

When Joab heard about what had happened, he was afraid. He had supported Adonijah but not Absalom. So Joab ran to the Tent of the Lord and took hold of the corners of the altar.

Benaiah went into the Tent of the Lord and said to Joab, "The king says, ‘Come out!'" But Joab answered, "No, I will die here." So Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.

Without my father knowing it, he killed two men who were much better than he was—Abner son of Ner, the commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, the commander of Judah's army. So the Lord will pay him back for those deaths.

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada killed Joab, and he was buried near his home in the desert.

So Shimei answered the king, "I agree with what you say. I will do what you say, my master and king." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.

so he put his saddle on his donkey and went to Achish at Gath to find them. Then he brought them back from Gath.

So Solomon sent for Shimei and said, "I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you if you went out anywhere you would die, and you agreed to what I said.

The king also said, "You know the many wrong things you did to my father David, so now the Lord will punish you for those wrongs.

The Temple for the worship of the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still sacrificing at altars in many places of worship.

I ask that you give me a heart that understands, so I can rule the people in the right way and will know the difference between right and wrong. Otherwise, it is impossible to rule this great people of yours."

So God said to him, "You did not ask for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Since you asked for wisdom to make the right decisions,

So she took my son from my bed during the night while I was asleep, and she carried him to her bed. Then she put the dead baby in my bed.

"No!" the other woman cried. "The living baby is my son, and the dead baby is yours!" But the first woman said, "No! The dead baby is yours, and the living one is mine!" So the two women argued before the king.

The real mother of the living child was full of love for her son. So she said to the king, "Please, my master, don't kill him! Give the baby to her!" But the other woman said, "Neither of us will have him. Cut him into two pieces!"

God gave Solomon great wisdom so he could understand many things. His wisdom was as hard to measure as the grains of sand on the seashore.

"You remember my father David had to fight many wars with the countries around him, so he was never able to build a temple for worshiping the Lord his God. David was waiting until the Lord allowed him to defeat all his enemies.

So send your men to cut down cedar trees for me from Lebanon. My servants will work with yours, and I will pay them whatever wages you decide. We don't have anyone who can cut down trees as well as the people of Sidon."

So Hiram gave Solomon as much cedar and pine as he wanted.