1 Kings 2:42

42 So Solomon sent for Shimei and said, "I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you if you went out anywhere you would die, and you agreed to what I said.

1 Kings 2:42 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 2:42

And the king sent and called for Shimei
He sent messengers to him, and by them ordered him to come to him, who accordingly came:

and he said unto him, did not I make thee swear by the Lord;
which, though not before mentioned, was no doubt done, nor did Shimei deny it:

and protested unto thee;
that is, declared before witnesses:

saying, know for certain, that on the day thou goest out;
namely, out of the city of Jerusalem:

and walkest abroad any whither;
further at most than the brook Kidron, or any other place equally distant from Jerusalem, on any side of it; for when he went to Gath, he did not go over Kidron, but went the road the other way around. Kidron lay to the east, and Gath to the west of Jerusalem: now the protestation made to him was, that if he went out of Jerusalem any way,

that thou shalt surely die;
it would be sure and certain death to him:

and thou saidst unto me, the word [that] I have heard [is] good;
not only he promised to obey it, and that with an oath, but declared it was agreeable and acceptable to him, and therefore the offence was a very aggravated one.

1 Kings 2:42 In-Context

40 so he put his saddle on his donkey and went to Achish at Gath to find them. Then he brought them back from Gath.

41 Someone told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned.

42 So Solomon sent for Shimei and said, "I made you promise in the name of the Lord not to leave Jerusalem. I warned you if you went out anywhere you would die, and you agreed to what I said.

43 Why did you break your promise to the Lord and disobey my command?"

44 The king also said, "You know the many wrong things you did to my father David, so now the Lord will punish you for those wrongs.