1 Kings 2:9

9 But you don't need to excuse him. You are wise and know what to do to him. Give him a violent death."

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 As for Barzillai's sons from Gilead, show them kindness. Let them eat with you. When I was running away from your brother Absalom, they came to me.

8 Now as for this Shimei, Gera's son—a Benjaminite from Bahurim—who is with you, he cursed me viciously when I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, ‘Surely I won't execute you with the sword.'

9 But you don't need to excuse him. You are wise and know what to do to him. Give him a violent death."

10 Then David lay down with his ancestors and was buried in David's City.

11 He ruled over Israel forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.