1 As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon, 2“I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. 3And keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, 4and so that the Lord may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

5 Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me— what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

7 But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

8 Keep 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.’ 9Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”

10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. 11The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years — seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

13 Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?”

“Yes, in peace,” he replied. 14Then he said, “I have something to tell you.”

“Say it,” she answered.

15“You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the Lord. 16So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.”

“State your request,” she told him.

17 Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

18“Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.

20“I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.”

“Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.”

21 So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”

22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”

23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life. 24And now, as surely as the Lord lives — the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised— surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”

25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.” 27So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord and thus fulfilled the word that the Lord had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.

28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar.

29 It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord and is now beside the altar.”

So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!”

30 And Benaiah entered the tent of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”

But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.”

So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.”

31 And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32The Lord will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 33Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord forever.”

34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness. 35And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”

38“The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.

39 After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”

40 So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath.

41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, ‘On the day you leave and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’ 43So why have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the command that I gave you?”

44 The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the Lord will bring your evil back upon your head. 45But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.”

46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.

1 Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the Lord, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.

2 The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places because a house for the Name of the Lord had not yet been built.

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? 4Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

5 On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7 About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. 8“Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”

“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”

9“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

10 At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. 14Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord — large numbers of both men and women.

15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out 18and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying, 20“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

21 At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin— the full assembly of the elders of Israel— and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report: 23“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

24 When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening. 25Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”

26 At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles — but not by force, for fear the people would stone them. 27They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them. 28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. 30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. 31God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

33 When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death. 34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

35“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.

38 So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

40 At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.