1 Kings 2

When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

Przykład Chrystusa stanowi dla was zachętę, Jego miłość niesie wam pocieszenie, a Duch Święty pomaga wam żyć w jedności i okazywać innym współczucie oraz miłość.

“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man,

Sprawcie więc, żeby moja radość była pełna—bądźcie jednomyślni, zgodni i okazujcie sobie miłość oraz gotowość do współpracy!

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

Nie drażnijcie się nawzajem i nie okazujcie pychy. Przeciwnie, w pokorze uważajcie innych za ważniejszych od siebie

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.’

i dbajcie o ich sprawy, a nie tylko o własny interes.

“Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.

Niech postawa Jezusa Chrystusa będzie dla was wzorem:

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

Solomon’s Throne Established

Kochani, gdy byłem z wami, zawsze okazywaliście posłuszeństwo Bogu. Ale teraz, gdy jestem daleko, pielęgnujcie swoje zbawienie z podwójnym zapałem, okazując Bogu należny szacunek.

Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?”

He answered, “Yes, peacefully.”

To On bowiem daje wam zarówno dobre chęci, jak i siły do działania.

Then he added, “I have something to say to you.”

“You may say it,” she replied.

Cokolwiek robicie, nie narzekajcie ani nie sprzeczajcie się.

“As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord.

Nie dawajcie też nikomu podstaw do jakichkolwiek zarzutów, a wręcz przeciwnie—niech wszyscy widzą waszą nienaganność i czystość. Bądźcie jak światła jaśniejące w tym zepsutym i przewrotnym świecie.

Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.”

“You may make it,” she said.

Trzymajcie się słowa Bożego, które daje życie! W dzień powrotu Chrystusa będę z was bardzo dumny i będę cieszyć się, widząc, że moja praca i cały wysiłek nie poszły na marne.

So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

Gdybym nawet tę służbę dla was miał przypłacić życiem, to i tak jestem pełen radości i cieszę się razem z wami.

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

Dlatego wy również bądźcie pełni radości i cieszcie się razem ze mną!

Tymoteusz i Epafrodyt

When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand.

Chciałbym dowiedzieć się, co u was słychać. Dlatego mam nadzieję, że Pan pozwoli mi wkrótce wysłać do was Tymoteusza.

“I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.”

The king replied, “Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.”

Nie mam tu nikogo innego, kto tak jak on troszczyłby się o wasze duchowe potrzeby.

So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.”

Wszyscy pilnują tylko własnego interesu i nie przejmują się sprawami Jezusa Chrystusa.

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

Dobrze znacie oddanie Tymoteusza—w głoszeniu dobrej nowiny pomagał mi jak rodzony syn!

Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request!

Zamierzam więc wysłać go do was, gdy tylko się wyjaśni, co ze mną będzie.

And now, as surely as the Lord lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised—Adonijah shall be put to death today!”

Ufam jednak, że Pan sprawi, iż także ja będę mógł wkrótce do was przybyć.

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

Na razie uznałem za konieczne odesłać do was Epafrodyta, którego wysłaliście do mnie jako pomocnika. Cenię go jako przyjaciela, współpracownika i towarzysza broni w tej duchowej walce.

To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.”

Widziałem jednak, jak bardzo za wami tęsknił i niepokoił się, wiedząc, że martwicie się jego chorobą.

So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

Rzeczywiście był bowiem bliski śmierci, ale Bóg zlitował się nad nim. Zresztą nie tylko nad nim, ale i nade mną, abym w tej trudnej sytuacji nie przeżywał dodatkowego smutku.

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

Szybko wysłałem go do was, aby sprawić wam radość jego przybyciem i bym ja nie musiał się już o niego niepokoić.

King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”

Przyjmijcie go z radością i okazujcie uznanie takim jak on.

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

But he answered, “No, I will die here.”

Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”

Dokonał bowiem tego, w czym wy nie mogliście mi pomóc. A służąc Chrystusowi, ryzykował dla Niego życie.

Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed.

The Lord will repay him for the blood he shed, because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better men and more upright than he.

May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace forever.”

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country.

The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.

Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.

The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”

Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.”

At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned,

the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’

Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”

The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing.

But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.”

Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died.

The kingdom was now established in Solomon’s hands.