1 Kings 2 · Verse 8

1 Kings 2:8

And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
1 Kings 2:8, King James Version

1 Kings 2:8 in other translations

BSBKeep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’
WEB“Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
ASVAnd, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I sware to him by Jehovah, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
YLT‘And lo, with thee is Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, and he reviled me--a grievous reviling--in the day of my going to Mahanaim; and he hath come down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swear to him by Jehovah, saying, I do not put thee to death by the sword;
DARBYAnd behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
BBENow you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera the Benjamite of Bahurim, who put a bitter curse on me on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to see me at Jordan, and I gave him my oath by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death by the sword.
WebsterAnd behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

What does 1 Kings 2:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
8. thou hast with thee Shimei--Though David promised him a pardon, which being enforced by the presence of a thousand followers, could not have been well refused, he warned his son against Shimei as a turbulent and dangerous character. It must not be supposed that in these dying instructions David was evincing a fierce, vindictive spirit. He is rather to be considered as acting in the character of a king and magistrate, in noticing crimes which he had not been in a condition to punish, and pointing out persons of whom Solomon would be under a necessity to rid himself as dangerous to the state. The grateful mention of Barzillai's kindness [1Ki 2:7] was, however, a personal feeling that does honor to the warmth of his heart; and his silence as to Mephibosheth, the son of his beloved Jonathan, would imply the previous death of that prince.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 8 Thou hast with thee Shimei - See on 2Sam 16:5 (note), etc., and the notes on 2Sam 19:18-23 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 2:5-11

These dying counsels concerning Joab and Shimei, did not come from personal anger, but for the security of Solomon's throne, which was the murders he had committed, but would readily repeat them to carry any purpose; though long reprieved, he shall be reckoned with at last. Time does not wear out the guilt of any sin, particularly of murder. Concerning Shimei, Hold him not guiltless; do not think him any true friend…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 2:5-11 →

1 Kings 2:8 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהִנֵּ֣הve.hi.Nehand here!H2009
עִ֠מְּךָ'I.me.kha[is] with youH5973
שִֽׁמְעִ֨יshim.'IShimeiH8096
בֶן\־ven-[the] son ofH1121
גֵּרָ֥אge.Ra'GeraH1617
בֶן\־ven-[the] Ben-H1145
הַיְמִינִי֮hay.mi.Ni<the> jaminiteH1145
מִבַּחֻרִים֒mi.ba.chu.Rimfrom BahurimH980
וְה֤וּאve.Hu'and heH1931
קִֽלְלַ֙נִי֙ki.La.nihe cursed meH7043
קְלָלָ֣הke.la.Laha curseH7045
נִמְרֶ֔צֶתnim.Re.tzetgrievousH4834
בְּי֖וֹםbe.Yomon [the] dayH3117
לֶכְתִּ֣יlekh.Tiwent IH1980
מַחֲנָ֑יִםma.cha.Na.yimMahanaimH4266
וְהֽוּא\־ve.hu'-and heH1931
יָרַ֤דya.Radhe came downH3381
לִקְרָאתִי֙lik.ra.Tito meet meH7122
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןhai.yar.Denthe JordanH3383
וָאֶשָּׁ֨בַֽעva.'e.Sha.va'and I sworeH7650
ל֤וֹloto him
בַֽיהוָה֙ba.Yah.wehby YahwehH3068
לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
אִם\־'im-ifH518
אֲמִֽיתְךָ֖'a.mi.te.KhaI will put to death youH4191
בֶּחָֽרֶב\׃be.Cha.revby the swordH2719

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 2:8

  • 2 Samuel 16:5-8

    And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.

  • Jeremiah 4:2

    And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

  • 1 Kings 2:36-46

    And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. …

  • 2 Samuel 19:16-23

    And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Shimei.
36-46; 2Sa 16:5-8
grievous. Heb. strong. he came.
2Sa 19:16-23; Jer 4:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 2:7

    But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.

  • 1 Kings 2:8

    And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

  • 1 Kings 2:9

    Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

Read all of 1 Kings 2

1 Kings 2:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
También tienes contigo á Semei hijo de Gera, hijo de Benjamín, de Bahurim, el cual me maldijo con una maldición fuerte el día que yo iba á Mahanaim. Mas él mismo descendió á recibirme al Jordán, y yo le juré por Jehová, diciendo: Yo no te mataré á cuchillo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et voici, il y a avec toi Shimhi, fils de Guéra, le Benjaminite, de Bakhurim: celui-là m’a maudit d’une malédiction violente, au jour où je m’en allais à Mahanaïm. Mais il descendit à ma rencontre au Jourdain, et je lui jurai par l’ Éternel, disant: Si je te fais mourir par l’épée!
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und siehe, bei dir ist Simei, der Sohn Geras, der Benjaminiter, von Bachurim; und selbiger fluchte mir mit heftigem Fluche an dem Tage, da ich nach Machanaim ging. Aber er kam herab, mir entgegen, an den Jordan, und ich schwur ihm bei Jehova und sprach: Wenn ich dich mit dem Schwerte töte!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Habes quoque apud te Semei filium Gera filii Jemini de Bahurim, qui maledixit mihi maledictione pessima quando ibam ad castra: sed quia descendit mihi in occursum cum transirem Jordanem, et juravi ei per Dominum, dicens: Non te interficiam gladio: