1 Kings 2:9

9 So don't let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood."

1 Kings 2:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 2:9

Now therefore hold him not guiltless
Do not look upon him as an innocent person; and if he commits an offence against thee, as he has against me, do not acquit him as I have done:

for thou [art] a wise man;
so it seems he was before the appearance of the Lord to him at Gibeon, even before his father's death he had given some proofs of it to David himself:

and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him;
to watch and observe him, and, if found offending, to punish him according to the rules of justice, and the laws of the land:

but his hoary head bring thou down to the grave with blood;
spare him not on account of his age, but put him to death whensoever he shall be found guilty, let him not die a natural death.

1 Kings 2:9 In-Context

7 "Show loyalty to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table because they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

8 "Keep an eye on Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim who is with you. He uttered malicious curses against me the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, and I swore to him by the Lord: 'I will never kill you with the sword.'

9 So don't let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood."

10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

11 The [length of] time David reigned over Israel was 40 years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem.