1 Kings 2:42

42 And sending he called for him, and said to him: Did I not protest to thee by the Lord, and tell thee before: On what day soever thou shalt go out and walk abroad any where, know that thou shalt die? And thou answeredst me: The word that I have heard is good.

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 And Semei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Achis, to Geth, to seek his servants, and he brought them out of Geth.

41 And it was told Solomon, that Semei had gone from Jerusalem to Geth, and was come back.

42 And sending he called for him, and said to him: Did I not protest to thee by the Lord, and tell thee before: On what day soever thou shalt go out and walk abroad any where, know that thou shalt die? And thou answeredst me: The word that I have heard is good.

43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I laid upon thee?

44 And the king said to Semei: Thou knowest all the evil, of which thy heart is conscious, which thou didst to David, my father: the Lord hath returned thy wickedness upon thy own head.