Bible Strands
1 Kings 2:6
So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — King David addresses his son Solomon at the end of his reign, issuing final directives for securing the throne. He specifically commands Solomon to judge Joab for the bloodguilt Joab committed against Abner and Amasa.
The words — תוֹרֵד (toRed) literally means “you will bring down,” and שֵׁאֹל (she'ol) denotes the realm of the dead. David pairs these verbs with the phrase “in peace” (בְּשָׁלוֹם) to describe the outcome Solomon must actively prevent.
The thread — The command to deny a peaceful death to a guilty commander echoes in 1 Kings 2:9, where David reiterates the order not to hold Joab guiltless. It contrasts with the blessing of the upright in Psalms 37:37 and illustrates the kingly duty to separate the wicked described in Proverbs 20:26.
Why it lands — The text commands Solomon to apply royal wisdom to execute justice rather than grant mercy to a bloodguilty man. It requires the reader to recognize that kingly authority demands decisive action against established violence, not passive tolerance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 2:9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”
- Psalms 37:37 Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
- Proverbs 20:26 A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
- Proverbs 28:17 A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11 When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
- Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
- Isaiah 57:21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
- Genesis 42:38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
- Numbers 35:33 Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
- 1 Kings 2:28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.