26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said , " Go to Anathoth to your own field , for you deserve to die ; but I will not put you to death at this time , because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David , and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted ." 27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord , in order to fulfill the word of the Lord , which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh . 28 Now the news came to Joab , for Joab had followed e Adonijah , although he had not followed e Absalom . And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar . 29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord , and behold , he is beside the altar . Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , saying , " Go , fall upon him." 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, "Thus the king has said , 'Come out.' " But he said , "No , for I will die here ." And Benaiah brought the king word again , saying , "Thus spoke Joab , and thus he answered me." 31 The king said to him, " Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father's house the blood which Joab shed without cause . 32 " The Lord will return his blood on his own head , because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword , while my father David did not know it: Abner the son of Ner , commander of the army of Israel , and Amasa the son of Jether , commander of the army of Judah . 33 " So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever ; but to David and his descendants and his house and his throne , may there be peace from the Lord forever e ." 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death , and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness .
35 The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place , and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar . 36 Now the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, "Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there , and do not go out from there to any place . 37 "For on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron , you will know for certain that you shall surely die ; your blood shall be on your own head ." 38 Shimei then said to the king , "The word is good . As my lord the king has said , so your servant will do ." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days . 39 But it came about at the end of three years , that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah , king of Gath . And they told Shimei , saying , "Behold , your servants are in Gath ." 40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey , and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants . And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath . 41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath , and had returned . 42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying , 'You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere , you shall surely die '? And you said to me, 'The word which I have heard is good .' 43 "Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord , and the command which I have laid on you?" 44 The king also said to Shimei , " You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart , which you did to my father David ; therefore the Lord shall return your evil on your own head . 45 "But King Solomon shall be blessed , and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever e ." 46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada , and he went out and fell upon him so that he died . Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 2:26-46
Commentary on 1 Kings 2:26-34
(Read 1 Kings 2:26-34)
Solomon's words to Abiathar, and his silence, imply that some recent conspiracies had been entered into. Those that show kindness to God's people shall have it remembered to their advantage. For this reason Solomon spares Abiathar's life, but dismisses him from his offices. In case of such sins as the blood of beasts would atone for, the altar was a refuge, but not in Joab's case. Solomon looks upward to God as the Author of peace, and forward to eternity as the perfection of it. The Lord of peace himself gives us that peace which is everlasting.
Commentary on 1 Kings 2:35-46
(Read 1 Kings 2:35-46)
The old malignity remains in the unconverted heart, and a watchful eye should be kept on those who, like Shimei, have manifested their enmity, but have given no evidence of repentance. No engagements or dangers will restrain worldly men; they go on, though they forfeit their lives and souls. Let us remember, God will not accommodate his judgment to us. His eye is over us; and let us strive to walk as in his presence. Let our every act, word, and thought, be governed by this great truth, that the hour is quickly coming when the smallest circumstances of our lives shall be brought to light, and our eternal state be fixed by a righteous and unerring God. Thus Solomon's throne was established in peace, as the type of the Redeemer's kingdom of peace and righteousness. And it is a comfort, in reference to the enmity of the church's enemies, that, how much soever they rage, it is a vain thing they imagine. Christ's throne is established, and they cannot shake it.