1 Kings 2:44

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.

1 Kings 2:44 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 2:44

The king said moreover to Shimei
Not as another reason for his putting him to death, but to remind him of his former sins, and to observe to him the providence of God in suffering him to fall into others, that justice might take place upon him for them also:

thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that
thou didst to David my father;
which conscience must bear witness to, and accuse him of, not only of the words and actions themselves uttered and done by him, but of the malice and wickedness from whence they sprung:

therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
the punishment of it; which though not directly inflicted for that, yet in providence was brought about as a just retaliation for it.

1 Kings 2:44 In-Context

42 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 and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’

43 So 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.

45 But 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.