1 Kings 2:26
ESV
And to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because you shared in all my father 's affliction."
NIV
To Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships."
NASB
Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, 'Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.'
CSB
The king said to the priest Abiathar, "Go to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death today, since you carried the ark of the Lord God in the presence of my father David and you suffered through all that my father suffered."
NLT
Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, 'Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign Lord for David my father and you shared all his hardships.'
KJV
And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.
NKJV
And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.”
What does 1 Kings 2:26 mean?
Solomon executed his older brother for conspiring to take the crown (1 Kings 2:22–25). Adonijah's attempt to make himself king was supported by two of the most powerful and influential men in Israel: Joab and Abiathar. Solomon is convinced that they continued to help Adonijah's plot even after David's death (1 Kings 2:22). Solomon decides they must both be dealt with for the future safety and stability of his kingdom.Yet Solomon refuses to have Abiathar executed. Abiathar had served as a priest since the day King Saul had vengefully killed all the other priests in the town of Nob (1 Samuel 22:16–23). Solomon understands how dangerous and difficult those years were for Abiathar, who joined David in the wilderness, constantly evading Saul.
Abiathar also remained sacrificially loyal to David when Solomon's brother Absalom rebelled against his father. As David and his servants fled Jerusalem, the co-priests Abiathar and Zadok appeared with the ark of the covenant, prepared to go into exile with their king. David told them to return to Jerusalem for the ark's sake, but also to send their sons with news of Absalom's plans (2 Samuel 15:24–29). Because of the bravery of Abiathar and Zadok's sons, David and his people made it to safety (2 Samuel 17:15–22).
Abiathar and his son had been loyal to David, but they didn't support David's choice of Solomon (1 Kings 1:5–7, 41–43). Solomon can't bring himself to execute the priest, so he sends Abiathar off to live out his days in a kind of house arrest in his family estate in the Levitical city of Anathoth, just northeast of Jerusalem.
