1 Kings 2:36
in 1 Kings 2Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
KJV
And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
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This verse in 1 Kings 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBuild thee a house - Thus he gave him the whole city for a prison, and this certainly could have reduced him to no hardships.
This site's exposition
Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem
on 1 Kings 2:36-38
Solomon sentences Shimei to confinement: “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there”, with the Kidron Valley as the bound. The terms are so plain that Shimei can only answer, “The sentence is fair”. He lives in Jerusalem “for a long time”, three years by verse 39.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Put the blood - This is added to note his impenitency, that although by his perfidious manner of killing them when he pretended to embrace them, he stained his own garments with their blood, yet he was not ashamed of it, but gloried in it, and marched boldly along with the army, with the same girdle and shoes which were sprinkled with their blood.
And the king sent and called for Shimei,....
This was a fair trial of his obedience, and such a test of his loyalty as he had no reason to complain of. He has his life upon easy terms: he shall live if he will but be content to live at Jerusalem.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the king sent and called for Shimei--He was probably residing at Bahurim, his native place. But, as he was a suspicious character, Solomon condemned him henceforth to live in Jerusalem, on the penalty of death, for going without the gates.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The object, apparently, was to keep Shimei under the immediate eye of the government. Shimei’s old home, Bahurim, lay east of Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho, 2Sa 17:18, and could only be reached by crossing the Kedron valley. Solomon assumes, that, if he quits the city, it will probably be in this direction 1Ki 2:37.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֣א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְשִׁמְעִ֔י | leshimi | <to> Shimei | H8096 → | 43 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֗וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| בְּֽנֵה־ | beneh- | build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| לְךָ֥ | lekha | for yourself | ||
| בַ֙יִת֙ | vayit | a house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְיָשַׁבְתָּ֖ | veyashavta | and you will dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵצֵ֥א | tetze' | you must go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִשָּׁ֖ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אָ֥נֶה | ʾaneh | where? | H575 → | 41 times |
| וָאָֽנָה׃ | vaanah | and where? | H575 → | 41 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיִּקְרָ֣אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
לְשִׁמְעִ֔י<to> Shimei
leshimiH8096 →43 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֗וֹto him
lo
בְּֽנֵה־build
beneh-H1129 →376 times
לְךָ֥for yourself
lekha
בַ֙יִת֙a house
vayitH1004 →2046 times
בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וְיָשַׁבְתָּ֖and you will dwell
veyashavtaH3427 →1079 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֵצֵ֥אyou must go out
tetze'H3318 →1067 times
מִשָּׁ֖םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
אָ֥נֶהwhere?
ʾanehH575 →41 times
וָאָֽנָה׃and where?
vaanahH575 →41 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 20:8A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:5
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
- Proverbs 20:26
A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
- Psalms 99:4
The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Proverbs 29:14
A king who judges the poor with fairness—his throne will be established forever.
- Psalms 92:9
For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.
- Proverbs 25:5
Through
Proverbs 20:26A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:8
A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
- 2 Samuel 12:31
David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all…
- Proverbs 20:8
Through
2 Samuel 14:24But the king added, “He may return to his house, but he must not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the king.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:4
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
- Revelation 22:4
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.