Preface:

The chapter begins with the end of David’s reign and his final words to Solomon. King David, before his death, will give his final instructions to Solomon, about certain men who needed to be sorted out. Solomon will, for the greater part of this chapter, sort these various men out. Then the bulk of the chapter is about Solomon dispensing justice to the men which David spoke about. This is the way that he must begin his reign; by purging Israel of his enemies (Solomon’s enemies are a threat to the peace of Israel). .

This should be the most extensive examination of 1Kings 2 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 2:

Introduction

         vv.     1–9           David’s Final Advice to Solomon

         vv.    10–12         Transitional passage: the transfer of the Kingship from David to Solomon

         vv.    13–25         Adonijah Asks Bathsheba for Abishag

         vv.    20–25         Bathsheba Speaks to King David and Adonijah is Executed for his Impertinence

         vv.    26–27         Abiathar the Priest is Given Early Retirement

         vv.    28–35         Joab is Executed for Murder and then Replaced

         vv.    36–38         Shimei is Put under House Arrest

         vv.    39–46         Shimei is executed for Violating House Arrest/Solomon’s Kingdom Established

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         The Principals of 1Kings 2

         Introduction         1Kings 1–2 and 1Chron. 22–29 Summarized

         Introduction         The Prequel of 1Kings 2

         Introduction         The Abbreviated Timeline of the Kings

         Introduction         Clarke’s Synopsis of 1Kings 2

         Introduction         Gill Outlines 1Kings 2

         Introduction         Arno Gaebelein organizes 1Kings 1–2

         Introduction         The Literary Units in 1Kings 1–2 (graphic)

         Introduction         The Christian Community Bible introduces this chapter...

         Introduction         Is King Solomon’s Throne Secure? (a graphic)

         v.       1              Funeral/Death Verses

         v.       2              Links to the Doctrine of Dying Grace

         v.       3              The Spiritual Life During the Time of David and Solomon

         v.       3              Statutes, Commandments, Ordinances and Testimonies

         v.       3              1Kings 2:2–3 (graphic)

         v.       3              David’s Admonitions to Solomon and Their Parallels (Pett)

         v.       4              The Abbreviated Doctrine of The Way of God

         v.       4              Explain ‘No man will be cut off from the throne of Israel.’

         v.       4              Eason on David’s Legacy to Solomon

         v.       5              A Condensed View of Joab

         v.       5              The Expositor’s Bible on Joab and his brothers

         v.       5              Joab, Abner, Amasa and Absalom

         v.       5              David is not looking to avenge himself against Joab

         v.       6              Why Joab must die

         v.       6              What about David and Uriah?

         v.       9              Poole: David is not settling an old score with Shimei

         v.       9              David’s Final Instructions to Solomon

         v.      10              David’s Last Days before his Death

         v.      10              David as a Type of Christ

         v.      10              Robinson Presents David as a Type of Christ

         v.      11              David in the New Testament—Separated by Section

         v.      11              David in the New Testament—Again

         v.      12              The Challenge that Solomon Faces

         v.      12              Peter Pett’s Chiamos of 1Kings 2:1–12

         v.      12              Chuck Smith on British Israelism

         v.      13              Peter Pett’s Adonijah Chiasmos

         v.      13              Adonijah does not know the role that Bathsheba played in making Solomon king

         v.      17              Why Adonijah chooses to go through Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother

         v.      17              Timing and Adonijah’s Motivation

         v.      21              Bathsheba asks Solomon for Abishag, for David’s son Adonijah

         v.      21              Can King Solomon force Abishag to marry Adonijah?

         v.      22              Peter Pett on how we know that Adonijah was scheming to take the throne

         v.      24              Is Solomon right to call for the execution of Adonijah?

         v.      25              The Pulpit Commentary Contrasts Solomon and Adonijah

         v.      26              Peter Pett’s Chiasmos of 1Kings 2:26–35

         v.      26              The Priesthood and Politics

         v.      27              Skeptics and the Inspiration of Scripture

         v.      28              Joab Seizes the Altar (graphic)

         v.      28              The Mixed Bag that is Joab

         v.      28              What about Uriah the Hittite?

         v.      28              Is David calling for Joab’s Execution to avenge the death of Absalom?

         v.      32              Peter Pett on Abner, Amasa and Joab

         v.      35              The Septuagint Addition Part I: 1Kings 2:35

         v.      35              The Lines of Zadok and Abiathar

         v.      36              Peter Pett’s Chiasmos of 1Kings 2:36–46a

         v.      37              Map of Jerusalem During the Time of David and Solomon

         v.      37              Photo of Dubai

         v.      39              Inspiration Part II

         v.      46              Solomon Executing Justice in Jerusalem

         v.      46              The Septuagint Addition Part II: 1Kings 2:46

         Addendum          Why 1Kings 2 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from 1Kings 2

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes 1Kings 2

         Addendum          Peter Pett’s Preview of Coming Attractions

         Addendum          Peter Pett on Solomon’s Great Wealth and Blessing

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of 1Kings 2

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of 1Kings 2

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of 1Kings 2

Meyer places 1Chronicles 28:1-21 and 1Chronicles 29:1-30 as occurring between this and the preceding chapter.

Coffman: The events of this chapter did not follow immediately after those of the previous chapter. David recovered from his serious illness and performed a number of important deeds prior to his death as witnessed by the parallel account in 1Chronicles 23-29. And, although David's sinful numbering of Israel is included in the events reported there (which event occurred prior to the serious illness of David reported in 1Kings 2:1), it is quite evident that a number of things reported in Chronicles were undoubtedly subsequent to that illness.

——————————

An Introduction to 1Kings 2

I ntroduction: 1Kings 2 begins with David giving Solomon general advice about how he ought to function as a king and as a man. Then David speaks of those men who have been a blessing to him and of those who have turned against him. He will suggest that Solomon act according to their deeds and his wisdom, rewarding, punishing, or considering in his wisdom. In one verse, it is clear that David is leaving this up to Solomon’s discernment (Solomon is possibly in his teens at this point); but essentially David is trying to look out for Solomon.

It is a mistake to think that David wants to settle old accounts. David is not out after revenge against those who have betrayed him. As king, he could have sent out execution squads at any point to bring down those who did him wrong. He is simply pointing out a set of men who might be trouble-makers for Solomon—and might be this way for the rest of their lives. It is reasonable to suppose that David spoke of many more men than are listed here. However, these are men that we know about; as much of their history with David has been recorded in Samuel and the first chapter of 1Kings. Therefore, Solomon will need to determine how to deal with these men, as they could dramatically affect the stability of his reign.

We are actually dealing with a short list of men here: Shimei, Joab, Abiathar, Adonijah and the sons of Barzillai. We know quite a bit about the first 4 men; not so much about the second group of men. It is reasonable to suppose that David’s list of naughty and nice was much more lengthy than the one which is preserved here. All we need are some representative examples to understand David’s thinking.

No one will be executed simply for opposing David or for opposing Solomon. The first 4 listed above have all gone against David; however, all of those men, apart from Joab, will be given an opportunity to square themselves with the administration, and to live in peace. However, Adonijah and Shimei will violate those reasonable terms offered them.

The Expositor’s Bible talks a little about the mores of the people of this age, and also talks about how Jesus told us to love our enemies. The upshot, it appears to me, is that, (in the opinion of this commentator) maybe if Solomon were more evolved as a modern-day Christian, that the evil found in this chapter would not have occurred. However, every society, and every age has its own set of standards, some of which are in keeping with the laws of divine establishment and others which are not. Today, we do not execute enough of our criminals, and our society seems to be trying to find an exalted legal place for homosexuals. Other societies obviously have executed too many people, and have swept homosexual actions under the carpet (I am thinking of the Roman society during the time of our Lord). If anything, Solomon shows great restraint and great compassion in this chapter. Furthermore, although many of these men are, or potentially are, his political enemies, Solomon does not appear to have an emotional involvement one way or the other. There is nothing in what Solomon says or does about Adonijah or Joab that makes us think he is looking for just any excuse to kill these two men. In short, the commentator who suggests that Solomon is more barbaric than the modern-day believer, he is just wrong.

What about “Love your enemies”? Doesn’t that show some moral upgrade from the Old Testament? It does not! Ex. 23:4–5 [God is speaking, giving the Law] "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” Prov. 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. Prov. 24:17–18 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. (all ESV) The concept of love your enemies was taught in the New Testament. Jesus Christ, throughout most of His ministry, taught the Law and the Prophets. He did not teach some new thing that superceded what Moses taught. Now, because the nation Israel rejected Him as their Messiah, there were some changes that were made. Jesus would work through a different institution (the church rather than through nation Israel); and there were changes which occurred as a result of this—but these changes did not include some sort of moral upgrade. The most significant changes were related to the spiritual life of the believer in the Church Age.

If you think that loving your enemies means that you must tolerate incompetent workers under you; that if someone robs you, you must open up your door and possessions to him and encourage him to take more; or that on the battlefield, you ought to take soup over to your Islamic enemies, then you do not understand even slightly what it means to love your enemies. As a person in management, you have a responsibility to the owners or stockholders of your company; and that means, you need to look for and keep the best workers; and you need to rid yourself of sub-par workers (you act, of course, within reason). Now, there are circumstances where you might show compassion to some in these various groups—if you have defeated your Islamic enemies, for instance, and you have gotten from them the most information that you can, then you would treat them decently with regards to food and even giving them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In life, we all have personal enemies—we all know people who are antagonistic toward us. These are the enemies that we need to love (and some of them, from afar). When people on the left intentionally or unintentionally distort our Lord’s words, most of the time, it is to suggest that other people be subjected to a ridiculous and incorrect application of what Jesus said. These same people, when it comes to some conservatives, will show them anything but love.

When I live, in Texas, if a man breaks into my home, I may lawfully kill that person. It does not matter if I am mad, scared or simply responding to a situation that must be taken care of. However, if someone breaks into my home in California and I kill them, I may find myself facing all kinds of criminal charges. Even though Texas is much closer to the laws of divine establishment, if I lived in California, then I would have to obey the laws of that state. But these differences are a matter of culture; and Texas is much closer to the laws of divine establishment than is California. However, Texas is not ignoring the idea of loving your enemies; whereas, if this is what California thinks their laws are doing, they are way wrong. See Liberalism, Conservatism and Christianity (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), where a variety of political and social issues are examined in the light of Scripture.

Solomon, in this chapter, actually acts differently than most new kings. Most new kings would simply kill every possibly rival for the throne—real or imagined. No one would think twice about that. But Solomon does not do that. Solomon takes his problem people and tries to work things out so that they might live. What King Saul did in Nob was cruel and vicious; what Solomon does in this chapter is restrained and compassionate.

We would insert 1Chron. 22–29 between 1Kings 1 and 2. 1Chron. 22 may possibly have occurred before 1Kings 1.

Hammond gave an analytical summary of those events: "The aged king left his sick room, gathered around him the princes of Israel (1Chronicles 23:2), and made a number of specific arrangements for the priests and Levites in their tabernacle services, and was even able to 'stand upon his feet' (1Chronicles 28:2) and address a large assembly respecting the erection and adornment of the Temple. He blessed the Lord before all the congregation (1Chronicles 29:10ff). He ordered festal sacrifices upon a tremendous scale and also witnessed a second and more formal anointing of Solomon as king. Nevertheless, his recovery was only temporary, the sudden brightening of the flame before it dies. In this chapter, David again appears near death; and we have a record of his double charge to Solomon."

Arno Gaebelein: We call attention again to 1Chronicles 28 and 29 where we find the record of the great assembly of all the princes of Israel and David's great address to them. He then made known to all Israel that the LORD had chosen Solomon to occupy the throne. He speaks there of the covenant promise, that his son should build the house of the LORD and His courts. He exhorted the people to keep the commandments and then spoke in tenderest words to young Solomon. "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind ... take heed now; for the LORD has chosen you to build an house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it" (1Chronicles 28:1-10). Then he gave to his son Solomon the patterns for the temple. These had been made under the guidance of the Spirit of God. The immense treasures are mentioned which David had dedicated for the temple worship. Of all this we find nothing in the record of the first book of the Kings. Here only the general history of God's government in Israel is given from the prophetic point of view. What Chronicles represents we shall state in our annotations on those books.

The Literary Units in 1Kings 1–2 (graphic) from Bible Study and the Christian Life; accessed October 13, 2014.

Is King Solomon’s Throne Secure? (a graphic) from Mark Meynell accessed June 25, 2014.

There is a parallel which ought to be kept in mind. King David represents our Lord in His incarnation and in His second advent. At the very end, Jesus Christ will destroy the enemies of Israel—His enemies—on earth, which is what David did throughout much of his tenure as king. He destroyed Israel’s earthly enemies. But God would not let David build a permanent dwelling for Him; Solomon would do that. This is because Solomon represents Jesus Christ in the Millennium. Solomon will be the ruler over Israel during Israel’s glory years. Israel will be in peace and prosperity, with Solomon at the head, building a permanent home for God on this earth. Jesus Christ will reign over this earth in the Millennium, in a time of peace and prosperity—in the greatest period of time in human history.

However, before the Millennium begins, Jesus must judge the unbeliever. That is what the latter ¾^ths of this chapter is about. It is Solomon taking charge and judging, with the idea that this would preserve nation Israel.

——————————

David's Final Advice to Solomon

1Chronicles :20

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so draw near days of David to die and so he charges Solomon his son, to say, “I am going in a way of all the earth and you have been strong and you have been a man and you have kept a charge of Y^ehowah your Elohim to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, and his ordinances and His testimonies as the writing in a torah of Moses, for the purpose that you are prudent with all that you do and with all that you face there; for the purpose that makes stand, Y^ehowah, His word which He spoke upon me, to say, ‘If guard your sons their way to walk to My faces in the truth, in all their heart and in all their soul,’ to say, ‘will not perish to you a man from upon a throne of Israel.’

Latin Vulgate                          And the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged his son Solomon, saying: I am going the way of all flesh: take you courage and shew yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and observe his ceremonies, and his precepts, and judgments, and testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses: that you may understand all you will, and wheresoever you will turn yourself: That the Lord may confirm his words, which he has spoken of me, saying: If your children will take heed to their ways, and will walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there will not be taken away from you a man on the throne of Israel.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    NOW the days of David to die drew near; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth; be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways and keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and succeed wherever you go; That the LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their ways, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.

Septuagint (Greek)                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; but be strong, and show yourself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep the commandments and the ordinances and the judgments which are written in the Law of Moses; that you may understand what you shall do in all things that I command you: that the Lord may confirm His word which He spoke, saying, If your children shall take heed to their way to walk before Me in truth with all their heart, I promise you, saying, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.

Significant differences:           Flesh instead of earth in the Latin. After David says that he goes the way of all earth, the next three phrases are per in the imperative in the Latin, Greek and Syriac; and they are in the Qal perfect in the Hebrew. Then the Latin has observe rather than keep.

The second phrase after the Law of Moses is confusing in the Hebrew; and, accordingly, has different approaches in the Greek and Syriac (the Syriac changes both phrases).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           David's last words

David's time was coming to an end. So he commanded Solomon his son, "I'm following the path that the whole earth takes. Be strong and be a man. Guard what is owed to the Lord your God, walking in his ways and observing his laws, his commands, his judgments, and his testimonies, just as it is written in the Instruction from Moses. In this way you will succeed in whatever you do and wherever you go. So also the Lord will confirm the word he spoke to me: `If your children will take care to walk before me faithfully, with all their heart and all their being, then one of your own children will never fail to be on the throne of Israel.'

Contemporary English V.       Not long before David died, he told Solomon: My son, I will soon die, as everyone must. But I want you to be strong and brave. Do what the LORD your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go. You and your descendants must always faithfully obey the LORD. If you do, he will keep the solemn promise he made to me that someone from our family will always be king of Israel.

Easy English                          David's instructions to Solomon

When David was near death, he gave these instructions to his son Solomon. `I will die soon like everyone else', David said. `Be strong and confident. Do what the *Lord your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands. These are in the book of the Law of Moses. Then wherever you go, you will be successful in all your actions. You will be successful wherever you go. Then God will *keep the promise that he made to me. He told me that my *descendants would always rule *Israel. This would happen if they were careful to obey his commands with all their heart and *soul.'

Easy-to-Read Version            The time came when David was about to die. So David talked to Solomon and told him, “I am about to die, like all men must. But you are growing stronger and becoming a man. Now, carefully obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Carefully obey all his laws and commands and decisions and agreements. Obey everything that is written in the Law of Moses. If you do this, then you will be successful in everything you do and every place you go. And if you obey the Lord, then the Lord will keep his promise about me. The Lord said, ‘If your sons carefully live the way I tell them, sincerely, with all their heart, then the king of Israel will always be a man from your family.’”

Good News Bible (TEV)         When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: "My time to die has come. Be confident and determined, 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. 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.

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 Berkeley Version           970 b.c.

When the time of David’s death came near, he advised his son Solomon: “I am about to die. You must be strong and behave as a man. You must observe the charge of the Lord your God, by walking in His ways, by observing His statues, commands, judgments, and testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in everything you do and in everything to which you may turn; and that the Lord may confirm the word which He spoke to me: If your sons watch their steps, so as to walk before Me devotedly, with their whole heart and soul, there shall never be wanting for you a man upon the throne of Israel.

New Century Version             The Death of David

Since it was almost time for David to die, he gave his son Solomon his last commands. David said, "My time to die is near. Be a good and strong leader. Obey the Lord your God. Follow him by obeying his demands, his commands, his laws, and his rules that are written in the teachings of Moses. If you do these things, you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. And if you obey the Lord, he will keep the promise he made to me. He said: `If your descendants live as I tell them and have complete faith in me, a man from your family will always be king over the people of Israel.'

New Life Bible                        When David's time to die was near, he told his son Solomon, "I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong. Show yourself to be a man. Do what the Lord your God tells you. Walk in His ways. Keep all His Laws and His Word, by what is written in the Law of Moses. Then you will do well in all that you do and in every place you go. Then the Lord will keep His promise to me. He has said to me, 'Your sons must be careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and soul. If they do, you will never be without a man on the throne of Israel.'

New Living Translation           David's Final Instructions to Solomon

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

"I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, `If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.'

The Voice                               David was close to dying, so he gave direction to his son, Solomon.

King David: I am about to go the way all earthly things go. Be strong; demonstrate your maturity. Honor the laws of the Eternal your God, and live by His truth. Be faithful to His laws, commands, judgments, and precepts-the ones written for us in the instructions of Moses. If you follow this path, you will be successful in everything you do no matter where you are, for the Eternal will be faithful to His promise to me throughout your life. He promised me, "For as long as your sons are devoted to Me and live by My truth and embrace it with all their being, your offspring will always sit upon Israel's throne." 2Samuel 7:13, 25

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Well, the time for David's death drew near, and he spoke to his son Solomon and said, 'I'm going the way of all on the earth. So now, you must be strong and show that you're a man. Follow the instructions of Jehovah your God. walk in His ways and follow the Commandments, rules, and decisions that are written about in the Law of Moses, so you'll understand what you should do when it comes to all the things that I will tell you. Then Jehovah will prove the thing that He promised: If your children will pay attention to the way that they should walk before Me in truth and with all their whole hearts, there will never fail to be a man who sits on the throne of IsraEl.

Beck’s American Translation When the time came for David to die, he gave his last instructions to his son Solomon. “I’m going the way of all people,” he said. “Be strong, and be a man. Do everything the LORD your God ordered you to do; Walk in His ways, carry out His rules, commandments, decrees, and solemn instructions as they are written in the law of Moses; then you will succeed in everything you do and everywhere you go and the LORD will carry our what He promised me: ‘if your descendants will be careful to live before Me sincerely with all their hearts and lives, you will never fail to have a descendant on the throne of Israel.’

Christian Community Bible     David’s testament

When David was about to die, he gave his son Solomon this instruction, “I am about to go the way of all creatures. Be strong and show yourself a man. Keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and walk in his ways. Keep his statutes, his commands, his ordinances and declarations written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do and wherever you go. If you do so, Yahweh will fulfill the promise he made to me: ‘If your sons take care to walk before me faithfully with their whole heart and their whole soul, you shall always have one of your descendants on the throne of Israel.’

God’s Word™                         When David was about to die, he instructed his son Solomon, "I'm about to leave this world. Be strong and mature. Fulfill your duty to the LORD your God. Obey his directions, laws, commands, rules, and written instructions as they are recorded in Moses' Teachings. Then you'll succeed in everything you do wherever you may go. You'll succeed because the LORD will keep the promise he made to me: 'If your descendants are faithful to me with all their hearts and lives, you will never fail to have an heir on the throne of Israel.'

International Standard V        David Instructs Solomon

As David's time to die approached, he addressed his son Solomon with these words:

"I'm headed down the road that everyone who lives on earth travels, so be strong and demonstrate that you're a grown man by keeping the charge that the LORD your God entrusted to you. Live life his way, keep his statutes, his commands, his ordinances, and his testimonies, just as they're written down in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in everything you do and wherever you go [Lit. turn], and so that the LORD may fulfill his promise that he spoke about me when he said, `If your sons pay attention to how they live by walking truthfully in my presence with all their heart and with all their soul, you will never lack a man on the throne of Israel.'.

New Advent (Knox)Bible        And now the time drew near when David must die; but first he left with his son Solomon this charge. I am going, said he, the way all mortal things go at last; do thou keep thy courage high and play the man. Hold ever true to the Lord thy God, following the paths he has shewn us, observing his ceremonies, and all those commands and awards and decrees that are contained in the law of Moses; so shalt thou be well advised in all thou doest, at every turn of the way. So will the Lord make good his promise to me, that if my sons would but tread those paths of his, still proving loyal to him with the whole purpose of their heart and soul, the throne of Israel should never lack one of my race to fill it.

New American Bible (2002)   When the time of David's death drew near, he gave these instructions to his son Solomon: "I am going the way of all mankind. Take courage and be a man. Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill the promise he made on my behalf when he said, 'If your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel.' [1-6,8-9] Solomon is expected to remove from his father's family the imputation of blood guilt brought upon it by Joab in the unwarranted killings of Abner (⇒ 2 Sam 3:27-29) and Amasa (⇒ 2 Sam 19:9-10); and likewise to punish Shimei for his curse, the effects of which David had pledged himself not to avenge in person (⇒ 2 Sam 19:21-23). The standards of morality presumed in these verses are far from the Christian ones.

New American Bible (2011)              David's Last Instructions and Death.

When the time of David's death drew near, he gave these instructions to Solomon his son: "I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and be a man! Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses [Dt17:18-19.], that you may succeed in whatever you do, and wherever you turn, and that the LORD may fulfill the word he spoke concerning me: If your sons so conduct themselves that they walk before me in faithfulness with their whole heart and soul, there shall never be wanting someone of your line on the throne of Israel. 2 Sm 7:11-16; Ps 132:11-12.

NIRV                                      David Gives Orders to Solomon

The time came near for David to die. So he gave orders to his son Solomon. He said, "I'm about to die, just as everyone else on earth does. So be strong. Show how brave you are. 3 Do everything the Lord your God requires. Live the way he wants you to. Obey his orders and commands. Keep his laws and rules. Do everything that is written in the Law of Moses. Then you will have success in everything you do. You will succeed everywhere you go. "The Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He said, `Your sons must be careful about how they live. They must be faithful to me with all their heart and soul. Then you will always have a man sitting on the throne of Israel.'

New Jerusalem Bible             As David's life drew to its close he laid this charge on his son Solomon, 'I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man. Observe the injunctions of Yahweh your God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his ordinances and his decrees, as stands written in the Law of Moses, so that you may be successful in everything you do and undertake, and that Yahweh may fulfil the promise which he made me, "If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you will never want for a man on the throne of Israel."

New Simplified Bible              David was about to die. He called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: »It is my time to die. I go the way of all people of the earth. Be strong and be a man.

»Do what Jehovah your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses. That way wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do.

»‘If you obey Jehovah he will keep the promise he made when he told me, ‘Your descendants will rule Israel as long as they are careful to obey my commands faithfully with all their heart and being.’

Today’s NIV                          David's Charge to Solomon

2:10-12pp -- 1Ch 29:26-28

When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      The days of David dying neared. He commanded Solomon his son, saying, "I go the way of all in the land. Fortify and be a man! Keep the schedule of Yahweh your God, go in his ways, keep his decrees, his commandments, his verdicts, his testimonies, as written in the Torah of Moses. Therefore you will comprehend all you do and anyone in front of you there. Therefore Yahweh raised his word which he spoke over me, ||saying||, 'If your sons keep to their way and go in front of me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, no man of yours will be cut from over the throne of Israel.'

Bible in Basic English             Now the time of David's death came near; and he gave orders to Solomon his son, saying, I am going the way of all the earth: so be strong and be a man; And keep the orders of the Lord your God, walking in his ways, keeping his laws and his orders and his rules and his words, as they are recorded in the law of Moses; so that you may do well in all you do and wherever you go, So that the Lord may give effect to what he said of me, If your children give attention to their ways, living uprightly before me with all their heart and their soul, you will never be without a man to be king in Israel.

English Jubilee 2000              Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon, his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth; be thou strong therefore and show thyself a man. Keep the charge of the LORD thy God, walking in his ways, keeping his statutes and his commandments and his rights and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou may have understanding in all that thou doest and in everything that thou dost undertake, that the LORD may confirm the word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, walking before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

The Expanded Bible              The Death of David [1Kings 2:1 : 2:10-12; 1 Chr. 29:21-30]

·Since it was almost time [As the time approached] for David to die, he gave ·his son Solomon his last commands [this charge to Solomon]. David said, "·My time to die is near [^LI am going the way of all the earth]. Be ·a good and strong leader [^Lstrong and show yourself a man]. ·Obey [Observe the injunctions/requirements of] the Lord your God. ·Follow him [Walk in his ways] by obeying his demands, his ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements], his laws, and his ·rules [regulations] that are written in the ·teachings [Law; ^LTorah] of Moses. If you do these things, you will ·be successful [prosper] in all you do and wherever you ·go [turn]. And if you obey the Lord, he will ·keep the promise he made to [fulfill the word he spoke concerning] me. He said: `If your descendants ·live as I tell them [^Lare careful of their way] and ·have complete faith in me [^Lwalk in truth/faith before me], ·a man from your family will always be king over the people [^Lthey will never fail to have a man on the throne] of Israel.'

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 (b.c. 1015) Death of David, and Instructions to Solomon

The time of David's death, however, approached, and he sent for I am going the way of all the earth, therefore be brave yourself, and be a man, and guard the Trust of your Ever-living God, and walk in His ways by guarding His Institutions, and Commandments, and Legislation, and Constitution, as they are recorded in the laws of Moses. For you should reflect upon all you do, and all you hud there, so that the Ever- Living may establish the promise which He made to me saying, ' If your children keep My path, and walk before Me in truth, with all their hearts, and all their souls, there shall not be wanting a man from you upon the throne of Israel.

HCSB                                     As the time approached for David to die, he instructed his son Solomon, "As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth. Be strong and brave, and keep your obligation to the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, judgments, and testimonies. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn, and so that the LORD will carry out His promise that He made to me: 'If your sons are careful to walk faithfully before Me with their whole mind and heart, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

NET Bible®                             David's Final Words to Solomon

When David was close to death [Heb "and the days of David approached to die."], he told [Or "commanded."] Solomon his son: "I am about to die [Heb "going the way of all the earth."]. Be strong and become a man! Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you [Heb "keep the charge of the Lord your God."] by following his instructions [Heb "by walking in his ways."] and obeying [Or "keeping."] his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish [Heb "then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there."], and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me [Heb "then the Lord will establish his word which he spoke to me, saying."], `If your descendants watch their step [Heb "guard their way."] and live faithfully in my presence [Heb "by walking before me in faithfulness."] with all their heart and being [Or "soul."], then,' he promised [Heb "saying."], `you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

New Heart English Bible        Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying, "I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; and keep the instruction of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself. That the LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,' he said, 'a man on the throne of Israel.'

NIV – UK                                David's charge to Solomon When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. `I am about to go the way of all the earth,' he said. `So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: "If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel."

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows: "I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man. Observe the charge of ADONAI your God to go in his ways and keep his regulations, mitzvot, rulings and instructions in accordance with what is written in the Torah of Moshe; so that you will succeed in all you do and wherever you go. If you do, ADONAI will fulfill what he promised me when he said, 'If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Isra'el.'

exeGeses companion Bible   DAVID MISVAHS SHELOMOH

And the days approach for David to die;

and he misvahs Shelomoh his son, saying,

I go the way of all the earth:

Strengthen! Manly!

Guard the guard of Yah Veh your Elohim!

Walk in his ways!

Guard his statutes and his misvoth

and his judgments and his witnesses

as inscribed in the torah of Mosheh

- so that you comprehend

in all you work and wherever you face:

that Yah Veh raise the word

he worded concerning me,

saying, If your sons guard their way,

to walk at my face in truth

with all their heart and with all their soul

not a man of you

is cut off from the throne of Yisra El.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               When David’s life was drawing to a close, he instructed his son Solomon as follows: “I am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and following His laws, His commandments, His rules, and His admonitions as recorded in the Teaching of Moses, in order that you may succeed in whatever you undertake and wherever you turn. Then the Lord will fulfill the promises that He made concerning me: ‘If your descendants are scrupulous in their conduct, and walk before Me faithfully, with all their heart and soul, your line on the throne of Israel shall never end [Lit. “There shall never cease to be a man of yours on the throne of Israel.” Compare 2Sam. 7:12–16.]!’

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Now the days of Dovid drew near that he should die; and he charged Sh'lomo Bno, saying, I go the derech kol ha'aretz; be thou chazak therefore, and show thyself a man; And be shomer over the mishmeret (requirement, charge) of Hashem Eloheicha, to walk in His derakhim, to be shomer over His chukkot (decrees), and His mitzvot, and His mishpatim (ordinances), and His edot (testimonies), as it is written in the Torat Moshe, so that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and wherever thou turnest; So that Hashem may uphold His Davar (Word, Promise) which He spoke concerning me, saying, If thy banim are shomer over their derech, to walk before Me in emes with all their lev and with all their nefesh, there shall not yikaret l'cha (be cut off of you, fail thee) Ish on the Kisse Yisroel.

The Scriptures 1998              And the days of Dawi drew near to die, and he commanded Shelomoh his son, saying, “I am going the way of all the earth. And you shall be strong, and be a man. “And guard the Charge of יהוה your Elohim: to walk in His ways, to guard His laws, His commands, His right-rulings, and His witnesses, as it is written in the Torah of Mosheh, so that you do wisely all that you do and wherever you turn; so that יהוה does establish His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons guard their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their being,ʼ saying, ‘there is not to cease a man of yours on the throne of Yisraʼĕl.ʼ

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And draw near do the days of David to die, and he charges Solomon his son, saying, `I am going in the way of all the earth, and you have been strong, and become a man, and kept the charge of Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you do wisely all that you do, and wheresoever you turn, so that Yahweh does establish His word which He spoke unto me, saying, If your sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, There is not cut off a man of your from the throne of Israel.

Context Group Version          Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I am going the way of all the land {or earth}: be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; and keep the charge of YHWH your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, [and] his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself. That YHWH may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their life {soul}, there shall not fail you ( he said ) a man on the throne of Israe.

English Standard Version      When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, "I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'

Kretzmann’s Commentary    The Death of David

Now, the days of David drew nigh that he should die; he felt that death was approaching rapidly; and he charged Solomon, his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth, walking on the way which led to death, Joshua 23:14. Be thou strong therefore and show thyself a man, a true watchman in the service of Jehovah; and keep the charge of the Lord, thy God, that which was entrusted to him in his kingly office, that he might perform it, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, the sum total of the Law in all its different aspects, in its various relations to men, whether this had special reference to the children of Israel or not, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper, be skilful, use wise care, in all that thou doest, and wheresoever thou turnest thyself, performing all things in such a manner as to have the approval of Jehovah and therefore be a partaker of true prosperity; that the Lord may continue His word which He spake concerning me, saying, if thy children take heed to their way to walk before Me in truth, in faithful adherence to His covenant, with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, shall not be cut off to thee, (said He) a man on the throne of Israel. The Messianic promise 2Sam. 7:12-13 implied, of course, an unbroken succession of descendants of David, through whom the family of David might be continued. The posterity of David was not to be exterminated, for it was a branch out of his root who was to be the Messiah of the world.

NASB                                     David's Charge to Solomon

As David's time [Lit days] [Gen 47:29; Deut 31:14] to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, "I am going the way of all the earth [Josh 23:14]. Be strong [Deut 31:7, 23; Josh 1:6, 7], therefore, and show yourself a man [Lit become a man]. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written [Deut 17:18-20] in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed [1 Chr 22:12, 13] in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord [2 Sam 7:25] may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, `If your sons [Ps 132:12] are careful of their way, to walk before Me [2 Kin 20:3] in truth [Or faithfulness] with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel [Lit there shall not be cast off to you a man from before Me] [2 Sam 7:12, 13; 1 Kin 8:25; 9:5].'

New King James Version       David's Instructions to Solomon

Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: "I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, `If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, `you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'.

New RSV                               When David's time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: `I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: "If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel."

Webster’s updated Bible       Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself. That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there will not fail you (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

Young’s Updated LT             And draw near do the days of David to die, and he charges Solomon his son, saying, “I am going in the way of all the earth, and you have been strong, and become a man, and kept the charge of Jehovah your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you will wisely all that you will, and wheresoever you turn, so that Jehovah does establish His word which He spoke unto me, saying, If your sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, ‘There is not cut off a man of your from the throne of Israel.

The gist of this verse:          David, on his deathbed, charges his son Solomon to hear, obey and preserve the Word of the Lord. This will preserve his dynasty.

Be prepared that this is quite a run-on sentence. It is as if David cannot get all of these words out fast enough, as if worried that he might die in the middle of speaking—so he just keeps talking, phrase by phrase. There simply does not appear to be any point at which David is stopping to take a breath and to gather his thoughts.

Translation: The time drew near for David to die,... David is in dying grace. He knows that he is dying, and he has the opportunity to guide and help his son Solomon, before he dies.

Notice that David is no longer called King David; at this point, he is only David. In previous chapters—particularly during the Absalom revolution, he was called King David or simply the King. Even though David is alive at this point, Solomon is king.

It is a mistaken notice to think that David, seemingly on his deathbed in 1Kings 1, proceeded to this chapter in short order and died. Actually, there was a recovery period for David, which span of time may have been a month or even several months.

The Pulpit Commentary also points this out: The death of David, and of course the charge which preceded it, did not follow immediately (as the casual reader might be tempted to suppose) on the events related in 1Kings 1. We find from 1Ch 23–29:23, that the aged king recovered sufficient strength to leave his sick room, to gather round him the princes of Israel, (1Chron. 23:9) to make a number of fresh arrangements respecting the priests and Levites and the services of the sanctuary, and even to "stand up upon his feet" (1Chron. 28:2) and address a large assembly respecting the erection and adornment of the Temple...But the recovery cannot have been otherwise than transient it was but the sudden brightening of the flame before it dies out in the socket and we see him in this second chapter, once more in the ante-chamber of death. Now...as he feels the end approaching, he summons Solomon to his side to impart to him his last and private instructions. Interestingly enough, I did not find this mentioned by many otherwise excellent scholars (Barnes, Clarke, Gill, Guzik).

It is important to note that Solomon listens to what he says and Solomon does what David suggests. Solomon is not there just nodding his head, saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah;” with the intent of doing whatever he wants after David passes away. I can guarantee you that this would have been the attitude of Absalom or Adonijah. Adonijah has never bothered to confer with David about even becoming king in the first place.

This would have described David’s other sons, who wanted to be kings, but who were too self-centered. Had they been king and David advising them, they would have ignored most of what he said.

David, on his deathbed, is not the least concerned about himself. He is not telling Solomon where he wants to be buried; what he wants read at his funeral service, etc. He is giving Solomon last minute instructions so that he might be great on the throne.

Application: All that remains of your generation is whatever truth you are able to pass on to your children and grandchildren. What happens at your funeral, where your body is buried, who comes and who doesn’t—all of that is immaterial. The only thing that you want to make certain is said at your funeral is the gospel of Jesus Christ; and encouragement for believers there to hold to the Word of God and to keep moving forward.

I cannot think of a single instance of a funeral in Scripture where we know what any speaker of God is saying. A verse from Jeremiah, if taken out of context, can sound as if God is saying not to attend funerals (Jer. 16:5), but this is all about a generation of Israelites who were so awful that God kills them all (the great and the small—Jer. 16:6).

Translation: ...he charged Solomon his son, saying,... David is going to tell Solomon what he suggests, and Solomon will listen carefully, and David’s words will be recorded. We do not know the process of this, but my guess is, there is a court recorder and an historian right there, recording most everything that David says.

What we find in these next few verses is quite remarkable. David does not discuss any regrets in his life; he does not talk about lost opportunities; he does not express sadness in his leaving this life. He is king and he is focused on one thing—on the successful transference of power from himself to Solomon. He has already made Solomon king and he has already announced this to the people of Israel (1Chron. 28–29). But, there are things which must be taken care of, to insure Solomon will begin his reign with the least amount of trouble; which in turn will give the people of Israel a stable and lawful government.

Hawker: There is somewhat very affecting in the dying moments of all men; but particularly so when eminent servants of the Lord come to die. We feel highly interested to know what they say, what were their views, and what their feelings, as they went down into the Jordan of death. The Holy Ghost hath been pleased to gratify the church on this point in numberless instances; and, in a part of scripture where many of the Old Testament saints are brought together into one point of view, we are told in general terms, that they all died as they had lived, believing; These all died in faith. See Heb 11.

L. M. Grant: As David was about to die, his words to Solomon have serious significance. Just as Paul (2Timothy 4:1-6) and Peter (2Peter 1:12-15) were concerned about the testimony of the Lord after their decease, so was David, for they were not moved by selfish motives, but by concern for God's glory among His people.

These are David’s final words to Solomon. David’s final words to the public were given in 1Chron. 28:2–9 Then King David rose to his feet and said: "Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, 'You may not build a house for My name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.' Yet the LORD God of Israel chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's house, and among my father's sons He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. He said to me, 'It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.' Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever. And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” (ESV; capitalized; 1Chron. 17:11–14 quoted and paraphrased)

Translation: ...“I am going the way of all the earth;... David knows that he is going to die. There is no way around that. Most of us know this intellectually; or we try not to think about it; but we all have an expiration date, and God knows what that date it.

This phrase comes actually from Joshua, when Joshua at his death said, “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14; ESV) It is reasonable to assume that David was studying the book of Joshua around this time, and what Joshua said, 400 years previous, also spoke to him.

Peter Pett: [David’s] opening words were based on Joshua 23:14, `and now I am about to go the way of all the earth', and his following words were very reminiscent of those spoken to Joshua by God in Joshua 1:7, "Be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the Law which Moses commanded you --- that you may prosper wherever you go". It is clear then that David had the injunctions in Joshua mainly in mind. He was well versed in the Scriptures. But the words are fashioned by him to suit the present situation, being altered and expanded on.

Going the way of all the earth simply means that, everything on earth with life will die—this is the natural order of things. David will have a focus far different than we would expect—his focus is on what will be good for Solomon and what will be good for Israel. He is about to leave the scene entirely.

J. Vernon McGee: First of all David said, "I go the way of all the earth." This is the way of man. In Romans 5:12 the apostle Paul says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." By man came death, and death is passed on to all men because all have sinned. The sin of Adam has been passed down to you and me; if the Lord tarries, we will go through the doorway of death. Why? Because this is the way of all the earth, the conclusion of this life's journey. It is not a very attractive subject. We don't like to think about death today because it is something a little too depressing for the human race.

J. Vernon McGee continues: In Psalm 23:4 David says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me." David is not speaking about the fact that he has come to his deathbed. As someone has said, "The moment that gives you life begins also to take it away from you." David is likening life to a walk through a valley. At birth you start down through the valley, and the farther you walk the narrower it gets. At the end of the valley is death. All of us are walking through that valley today. You may be in robust health today, but you can be dead before the sun goes down.

For a person in dying grace, they recognize that their time has come as well.

Gill: the path of death [is traveled by]...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.

And David has given his testimony concerning death back in Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (ESV; capitalized) This might be a good psalm to study, in parallel to this first portion of 1Kings 2. Psalm 23 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

This is what we have so far: As David’s time of life drew to a close, he gave this solemn charge to his son Solomon: “I am going the way of all the earth.” This first statement is by way of informational. “My health has been off and on for the past few months, but now, this is it. This is my last day. These are my final hours.” David says this because he knows that death is near, and because there are things which he must say to his son Solomon; because Solomon will become the only king, and there will be no man like David that Solomon can learn from. All of his learning from David is coming to a close before this chapter is out.

In these words, David is neither eliciting sympathy nor is he expressing fear. He is stating a fact. “I am going to say a few things, Solomon, my son, and you need to listen carefully. I might not be able to repeat any of this.”

Furthermore, David is done talking about himself. From this point forward, what he says is for the benefit of Solomon.

Application: The goofiest and most self centered thing I have ever seen is the person who plans out their own funeral, choosing the songs, the guest list, the things which need to be said. If you want to make sure that the gospel is made clear; if you want to make sure that Christian growth is laid out—that’s fine. Because at this point in time, you are gone. You are no longer in the room. The people you know who are alive in the room are the ones who need to move forward. They are still in the midst of the Angelic Conflict. So, if you have the need to plan out such an event, make sure you do what David does—his central focus is not himself, his life, his good deeds and his mistakes—the focus of what David has to say is Solomon. Solomon will carry on; Solomon, once this day is over, is still alive—so David tells Solomon what he believes will be best in order to begin and establish his reign over Israel.

Translation: ...therefore, be strong and be a man,... As you have seen in the previous chapter, Solomon had to act quickly as David told him to act, and he had to play the part of a king. We do not know Solomon’s age, but I would venture to guess that he is about 20 or 30 at this time (Barnes suggests that he might be as young as 19 or 20). He has learned a great deal from David and from whatever education that David has organized for him. Solomon will continue to learn the Word of God, but he will also become of student of many disciplines.

Solomon has done things that require strength; and he has been a man. He had Adonijah come in before him. A messenger gave Adonijah Solomon’s word that he would not kill him; but called him in and had Adonijah bow low before him. Solomon said very little. All that is recorded is, “Okay, go home now.” (1Kings 1:53b). I am of the mind that this is all the Solomon said. It was likely a very tense moment for both of them. Adonijah knew that he had to be courageous; he knew that he had to come before Solomon the king; and he did the proper obeisance before Solomon. And in all this time, Solomon was strong and regal.

So, at a fairly young age (1Chron. 22:5), during a time of mild turmoil, Solomon took the reigns of government and executed his responsibilities flawlessly. Much of David and Solomon’s co-regency reign is recorded in 1Chron. 22–29. This time period continued from a month to a year, roughly. In the Chronicles’ passages, it is clear that King David has some very good days in his old age.

It seems that David is both telling Solomon that, so far, he has been strong and he has been a man; and that he needs to continue that into the future. He is the leader of Israel. He is their king. Therefore, he has to be strong; he has to be a man; he has to show that he is a leader.

J. Vernon McGee: Solomon was not quite like his father. David was a man. Solomon was not much of a man. David was rugged. Solomon had been brought up in the palaces - in fact, he had been brought up in the women's palaces. Why did Solomon have a thousand women around him? My friend, the answer is quite obvious. All Solomon knew about was women. He was a sissy if there ever was one. I don't think he and David had much in common. So David says to him, "I have made you king. I want you to play the man. I don't think you are one, but do the best that you can." This is the injunction David gave to this boy who had been brought up with soft clothing. Solomon was not like David. He was not like John the Baptist. He was not like our Lord, either. But now he is the king of Israel.

Even though there are some innate characteristics of leaders, this is also a skill which must be learned. Most people do not have the desire to lead. Now, they might have the desire to boss others around or they might manipulate those around them; but that is nothing like being a leader. A lot of people want to have their own way; but leadership involves responsibility for others as it does authority.

The Doctrine of Leadership was covered back in 1Kings 1 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Application: Men inhabit a unique place in this world; and the man who gets married will be a leader. Let me say something that some men have a difficult time with: in marriage, you must be a leader. A woman looks to a man who is strong, is confident, can lead, and can make decisions. If a woman can walk all over you, she will lose her respect for you, and when she loses her respect for you, her love is long gone. No one is saying that you need to be a drill sergeant who constantly barks our orders, or gets into the face of his woman, and shouts, “Do you think that you really cleaned that latrine, corporal? You need to get back in there and put some backbone into it.” Unfortunately, marriages are too often based upon lust rather than upon leadership, which means you, as the man, initiate, and the woman, as the responder, responds. The more that men are woosified in our society, the more difficult it is for them to lead in marriage. And if the man cannot lead in marriage, that marriage will often just fall apart. The man provides the guidance and the backbone and the security of the marriage. Sometimes, women are going to act pretty irrational, and, within reason, marriage allows them some freedom to do so. Who has not known a pregnant woman who is, from time to time, a little bit kooky?

David says to Solomon, “You need to be strong and you need to be a man;” and this exact advice is necessary for every man who takes on some position of authority in life, even if that is a position as the man of the house in marriage.

Solomon has been raised in or around the palace, and there have been several other sons who wanted to become king (we know about Absalom and Adonijah—but there may have been more). For most of his life, these young men towered over Solomon in their age, experience, and physical appearance. Solomon, at a very young age, had to hit the ground running, and to be tough yet fair; to be a leader, but one who was compassionate. These are balances which few men can successfully achieve.

This is what we have so far: As David’s time of life drew to a close, he gave this solemn charge to his son Solomon: “I am going the way of all the earth. So far, you have been strong, you have been a man [and you need to continue this way],... You will note how close this is to Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians: Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (1Cor. 16:13; ESV) The implication is that Solomon should continue to be strong and he should continue to act like a man. This is difficult, because Solomon is young, and all of his half-brothers are older than he is. They are men, and he is just entering into manhood. As king, he must show a great deal of strength, while, at the same time, be fair and just.

Application: Leadership is a very tricky thing and very few people can properly lead. Our current president, Barack Obama (I write this in 2014), when running for president, disparaged over and over again the leadership of George Bush. Everything that was wrong in the world was George Bush’s fault. Although I cannot look into the mind of Barack Obama, I am sure that he thought he could step into the office of presidency and be a much greater leader than George Bush. I think that candidate Obama believed his own rhetoric. However, when he became president, the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and suddenly this job and this power that he coveted, was a much greater burden than he could have imagined. He adhered narrowly to a political ideology which is fine for classroom discussions, but has failed miserably in practice. As a result, I personally see Barack Obama is the greatest failed presidency in my lifetime. He did not make American safer or more prosperous; he circumnavigated our constitution, and imposed onerous regulations upon a variety of businesses, while seizing control of the medical insurance industry and the student loan industry in the first two years of his presidency. But his greatest failure as a president is an inability to self-correct. Some presidents try X, and when X doesn’t work, a good president might either dial back X, or try non-X. The policies which Obama have instituted have not been working; but he is too married to his ideology to dial back anything. And, his greatest problem internationally, is that he has not shown himself to be a leader. He is a speech-maker, but not a leader—and he has surely confounded these two things.

Application: Solomon will make some speeches; and in making these speeches, he will explain principles of truth, and he will back up his words with actions. No one will hear Solomon’s speeches, and then accuse him of doing the opposite of what he says. On the other hand, few people today have any interest in speeches given by Obama, apart from his loyal fans. We know that he says whatever he believes will help to get his agenda through. It does not matter if the country is with him; it does not matter if he outright lies to the people. Like many ideologues, he has an agenda, and everything is done in order to institute this agenda. Whatever tactics or words are necessary will be used. A leader will inspire, move and motivate his people with his words; a non-leader will lie, obfuscate the truth, and attempt to manipulate his listeners into a course of action.

President Obama, President George Bush—these are only men. They have sin natures; they have lust patterns; they have good points and bad. What separates them from us is, they have a different station in life. There are other men who are smarter, stronger, and more able to work their own policies. But they do not occupy the office of presidency. Therefore, it is up to these two men to be strong and to act like men.

In some countries, a man in Solomon’s position would have all of his half-brothers killed, along with, possibly, their mothers. So, whereas a casual reading of this chapter may make it seem as if David is giving Solomon a hit list, that is really not the case. Compared to most administrations in most countries, the number of people killed by Solomon’s administration when taking power is probably the least. And no one is killed simply for opposing David or opposing Solomon. There must be an underlying, legal reason for killing anyone.

4 men will be on David’s crap list: Joab, Abiathar, Adonijah, and Shimei. Joab had already murdered two men, so his execution is justified. The other men will be allowed to live, if they satisfy certain conditions. However, both Adonijah and Shimei will violate the terms of their probationary status; so they will be executed.

Translation: ...and you have kept the charge of Y^ehowah your Elohim... Here is where we find out that Solomon has been learning Bible doctrine. Solomon has kept the watch, charge, service and/or observation of Y^ehowah God. There are things which he was supposed to observe and this is what he did. He was also to preserve the charge of Y^ehowah.

Keeping the charge of Y^ehowah may have been an overall statement concerning Solomon’s relationship with God, which encompasses the things which follow.

The Geneva Bible: He shows how hard it is to govern and that no one can do it well except he obey God.

So far, this reads: The time drew near for David to die, he charged Solomon his son, saying, “I am going the way of all the earth; therefore, be strong and be a man, and you have kept the charge of Y^ehowah your Elohim.” Note David’s focus. It is upon Solomon. It is all about encouraging Solomon. David doesn’t talk about himself and what he is feeling; he does not recount his great deeds; he talks to Solomon about Solomon’s mental attitude and Solomon’s future.

Translation: ...—to walk in His ways,... Today, in the Church Age, there is the Christian walk, taught in Berachah Church as the protocol plan of God. In the Age of Israel there was also an appropriate set of mechanics and behaviors, which Solomon followed. This is the spiritual life for Old Testament saints in the Age of Israel.