David’s Instructions to Solomon
1 nWhen David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 o“I am about to go the way of all the earth. pBe strong, and show yourself a man, 3 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, qthat you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 that the Lord may restablish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, s‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, tto walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, uyou shall not lack1 a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah vdid to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, wAbner the son of Ner, xand Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging2 in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war3 on the belt around his4 waist and on the sandals on his feet. 6 Act therefore yaccording to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But deal loyally with the sons of zBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be aamong those who eat at your table, bfor with such loyalty5 they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 And there is also with you cShimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day dwhen I went to Mahanaim. eBut when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, ffor you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall gbring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
The Death of David
10 hThen David slept with his fathers and was buried in ithe city of David. 11 And the time that David reigned over Israel was jforty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 kSo Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
Solomon’s Reign Established
13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, l“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” 15 He said, “You know that mthe kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, nfor it was his from the Lord. 16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” 17 And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me oAbishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, pand she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 She said, “Let oAbishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask oAbishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, qfor he is my older brother, and on his side rare Abiathar6 the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, s“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24 Now therefore tas the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, uas he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon sent vBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to wAnathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, xbecause you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, yand because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” 27 zSo Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling athe word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab bhad supported Adonijah although che had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the dhorns of the altar. 29 And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king replied to him, e“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, fand thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32 The Lord will gbring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men hmore righteous and better than himself, iAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and jAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 gSo shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 kThe king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put lZadok the priest min the place of Abiathar.
36 Then the king sent and summoned nShimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37 For on the day you go out and cross othe brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. pYour blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39 But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to qAchish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” 40 Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, 42 the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43 Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart rall the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will sbring back your harm on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, tand the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.
uSo the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
How Long, O Lord?
A Psalm of yAsaph.
1 O God, zthe nations have come into your ainheritance;
they have defiled your bholy temple;
they have claid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given dthe bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your efaithful to fthe beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was gno one to bury them.
4 We have become ha taunt to our neighbors,
hmocked and derided by those around us.
5 iHow long, O Lord? Will you be angry jforever?
Will your kjealousy lburn like fire?
6 mPour out your anger on the nations
that ndo not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that odo not call upon your name!
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8 pDo not remember against us qour former iniquities;1
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are rbrought very low.
9 sHelp us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and tatone for our sins,
for your uname’s sake!
10 vWhy should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let wthe avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11 Let xthe groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those ydoomed to die!
12 Return zsevenfold into the alap of our neighbors
the btaunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13 But we your people, the csheep of your pasture,
will dgive thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Submission to the Authorities
1 Let every person pbe subject to the governing authorities. For qthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you rwill receive his approval, 4 for she is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, tan avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also ufor the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 vPay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 wOwe no one anything, except to love each other, for xthe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, y“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: z“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore alove is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you bto wake from sleep. cFor salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 dThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ecast off fthe works of darkness and gput on the armor of light. 13 hLet us walk properly as in the daytime, inot in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, jnot in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But kput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, lto gratify its desires.
Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
1 As for mthe one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 nOne person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and olet not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 pWho are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master1 that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 qOne person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. rEach one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since she gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For tnone of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, uwhether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ vdied and lived again, that he might be Lord both wof the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For wwe will all stand before xthe judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
y“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess2 to God.”
12 So then zeach of us will give an account of himself to God.
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 aTherefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide bnever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus cthat nothing is unclean in itself, dbut it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, eyou are no longer walking in love. fBy what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 gSo do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 hFor the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but iof righteousness and jpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is kacceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us lpursue what makes for peace and for mmutual upbuilding.
20 nDo not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. oEverything is indeed clean, but pit is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 qIt is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.3 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. rBlessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.4
The Example of Christ
1 sWe who are strong thave an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 uLet each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For vChrist did not please himself, but as it is written, w“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For xwhatever was written in former days was written for our yinstruction, that through endurance and through zthe encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ato live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify bthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
8 For I tell you that Christ cbecame a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order dto confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order ethat the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
f“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
10 And again it says,
g“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
h“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says,
ij“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
kin him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all ljoy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,5 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with nall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have sreason to be proud of tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except uwhat Christ has accomplished through me vto bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
a“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22 This is the reason why bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go dto Spain, and eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,6 I will leave ifor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing7 of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by jthe love of the Spirit, kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and nbe refreshed in your company. 33 May othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Personal Greetings
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant8 of the church at pCenchreae, 2 that you qmay welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
3 Greet rPrisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also sthe church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was tthe first convert9 to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,10 my kinsmen and my ufellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,11 and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those vwho belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers12 who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 wGreet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
Final Instructions and Greetings
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles xcontrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; yavoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ztheir own appetites,13 and aby smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For byour obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you cto be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 dThe God of peace ewill soon crush Satan under your feet. fThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21 gTimothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I Tertius, hwho wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 iGaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.14
Doxology
25 jNow to him who is able to strengthen you kaccording to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, laccording to the revelation of the mystery mthat was kept secret for nlong ages 26 but ohas now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, pto bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to qthe only wise God rbe glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
