1 Kings 2:43
ESV
Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?"
NIV
Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?"
NASB
Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I imposed on you?'
CSB
So why have you not kept the Lord’s oath and the command that I gave you?"
NLT
Then why haven’t you kept your oath to the Lord and obeyed my command?'
KJV
Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
NKJV
Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?”
What does 1 Kings 2:43 mean?
Solomon summoned Shimei because he had broken the king's command. He left Jerusalem to bring back runaway servants despite a strict agreement that Shimei must never leave, on pain of death (1 Kings 2:36–41). Solomon reminds Shimei of the bargain and its stipulations (1 Kings 2:42).Here, Solomon asks the simplest question of all: Why? Why did you break your oath? Why did you disobey my command? There's no answer Shimei can give. He might say that it was his right to retrieve his runaway servants. Or that he was going west, to Gath, not east to Benjamine, where he might raise an army against Solomon. Neither excuse justifies breaking his word.
Solomon isn't finished. Years ago, Shimei also wished great evil on David. He hoped Absalom's rebellion would be successful, and David would be killed (1 Kings 2:44). David had every right to execute Shimei on the spot but didn't just in case God had sent him to torment David further (2 Samuel 16:5–12). Solomon knows that God didn't tell Shimei to break his promise to stay in Jerusalem. Shimei has sealed his own fate (1 Kings 2:45–46).
