1 Kings 2:42

42 And Solomon sent, and called him, and said to him, Whether I witnessed not to thee by the Lord, and before-said to thee, In whatever day thou shalt go out hither and thither, know thou that thou shalt die; and thou answeredest to me, The word is good, which I heard? (And Solomon sent, and called for him, and said to him, Did I not make thee swear by the Lord? and did I not say to thee, On whatever day that thou shalt go out here and there, know thou that thou shalt die? and didest thou not answer to me, The word, which I 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 Shimei rose up, and saddled his ass (and saddled up his donkey), and went to Achish, into Gath, to seek his servants; and he brought them (back) again from Gath.
41 And it was told to king Solomon, that Shimei had gone to Gath from Jerusalem, and had come (back) again.
42 And Solomon sent, and called him, and said to him, Whether I witnessed not to thee by the Lord, and before-said to thee, In whatever day thou shalt go out hither and thither, know thou that thou shalt die; and thou answeredest to me, The word is good, which I heard? (And Solomon sent, and called for him, and said to him, Did I not make thee swear by the Lord? and did I not say to thee, On whatever day that thou shalt go out here and there, know thou that thou shalt die? and didest thou not answer to me, The word, which I heard, is good?)
43 Why therefore keptest thou not the oath of the Lord, and the commandment which I commanded to thee?
44 And the king said to Shimei, Thou knowest all the evil, of which thine heart is guilty to thee, which evil thou didest to [David] my father; the Lord hath yielded thy malice into thine head. (And the king said to Shimei, Thou knowest all the evil which thy heart is guilty of, which evil thou didest to my father David; and now the Lord shall yield thy malice onto thy own head.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.