10-12. Then David joined his ancestors. He was buried in the City of David. David ruled Israel for forty years—seven years in Hebron and another thirty-three in Jerusalem. Solomon took over on the throne of his father David; he had a firm grip on the kingdom.
13-14. Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She said, “Do you come in peace?”He said, “In peace.” And then, “May I say something to you?”“Go ahead,” she said, “speak.”
15-16. “You know that I had the kingdom right in my hands and everyone expected me to be king, and then the whole thing backfired and the kingdom landed in my brother’s lap—God’s doing. So now I have one request to ask of you; please don’t refuse me.”“Go ahead, ask,” she said.
17. “Ask King Solomon—he won’t turn you down—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
18. “Certainly,” said Bathsheba. “I’ll speak to the king for you.”
19. Bathsheba went to King Solomon to present Adonijah’s request. The king got up and welcomed her, bowing respectfully, and returned to his throne. Then he had a throne put in place for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.
20. She said, “I have a small favor to ask of you. Don’t refuse me.”The king replied, “Go ahead, Mother; of course I won’t refuse you.”
21. She said, “Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
22. King Solomon answered his mother, “What kind of favor is this, asking that Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah? Why don’t you just ask me to hand over the whole kingdom to him on a platter since he is my older brother and has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side!”
23-24. Then King Solomon swore under God, “May God do his worst to me if Adonijah doesn’t pay for this with his life! As surely as God lives, the God who has set me firmly on the throne of my father David and has put me in charge of the kingdom just as he promised, Adonijah will die for this—today!”
25. King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck Adonijah and he died.
26. The king then told Abiathar the priest, “You’re exiled to your place in Anathoth. You deserve death but I’m not going to kill you—for now anyway—because you were in charge of the Chest of our ruling God in the company of David my father, and because you shared all the hard times with my father.”
27. Solomon stripped Abiathar of his priesthood, fulfilling God’s word at Shiloh regarding the family of Eli.
28-29. When this news reached Joab, this Joab who had conspired with Adonijah (although he had remained loyal in the Absalom affair), he took refuge in the sanctuary of God, seizing the horns of the Altar and holding on for dear life. King Solomon was told that Joab had escaped to the sanctuary of God and was clinging to the Altar; he immediately sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada with orders, “Kill him.”
30. Benaiah went to the sanctuary of God and said, “King’s orders: Come out.”He said, “No—I’ll die right here.”Benaiah went back to the king and reported, “This was Joab’s answer.”
31-33. The king said, “Go ahead then, do what he says: Kill him and bury him. Absolve me and my father’s family of the guilt from Joab’s senseless murders. God is avenging those bloody murders on Joab’s head. Two men he murdered, men better by far than he ever was: Behind my father’s back he brutally murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. Responsibility for their murders is forever fixed on Joab and his descendants; but for David and his descendants, his family and kingdom, the final verdict is God’s peace.”
34-35. So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went back, struck Joab, and killed him. He was buried in his family plot out in the desert. The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.