Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 2:46 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 46. 46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition: “So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Shimei breaks his confinement and is executed.”
Read It With
- 1 Kings 2:36–46
Read 1 Kings 2:46 with 2:36–46. The selected wording supplies one closing in the thought unit with its stated result or transition; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Confines Shimei to a house in Jerusalem; closes the consolidation with Benaiah executing Shimei and Solomon holding the kingdom firmly.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Shimei breaks his confinement and is executed,” 1 Kings 2:46 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition through the wording “So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 2:35 establishes this prior movement: Transfers Joab's military office to Benaiah and Abiathar's priestly office to Zadok. 1 Kings 2:36–46 brings the preceding movement toward its stated result or close; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 2:36–46 together
Why these verses belong together: Shimei breaks his confinement and is executed is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 2:36–2:46.
Verse 36. 36 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.
Verse 37. 37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
Verse 38. 38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
Verse 39. 39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.
Verse 40. 40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
Verse 41. 41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
Verse 42. 42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.
Verse 43. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
Verse 44. 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
Verse 45. 45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
Verse 46. 46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
Follow the Context
- Confines Shimei to a house in Jerusalem
- Closes the consolidation with Benaiah executing Shimei and Solomon holding the kingdom firmly
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 2:46 does not permit the wording “So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not authorize political execution, private vengeance, massacre, siege, collective punishment, or transferring an ancient dynastic and military conflict onto a modern people.
What Remains True
Power remains accountable for every person exposed, silenced, displaced, injured, or killed even when the narrative also reports fulfillment or victory. This unit tests that truth through confines Shimei to a house in Jerusalem; closes the consolidation with Benaiah executing Shimei and Solomon holding the kingdom firmly. In 1 Kings 2:46, the concrete line “So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he….” When authority exposes people to violence, preserve evidence, protect those at risk, require independent lawful review, and refuse retaliation, collective blame, or celebration of harm. This response follows from the unit's own sequence: Confines Shimei to a house in Jerusalem; closes the consolidation with Benaiah executing Shimei and Solomon holding the kingdom firmly.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 2:46's role in 2:36–46. Paraphrase “So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Kings 2:36–46 — Shimei breaks his confinement and is executedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 2:36–46, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 2:36–46
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 586–589, translation and translator notes for 2:36–46
Open source ↗