And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

Thou hast also with thee Semei the son of Gera the son of Jemini of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went to the camp: but because he came down to meet me when I passed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying: I will not kill thee with a sword:

And behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

And lo, with thee is Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, and he reviled me, a grievous reviling, in the day of my going to Mahanaim; and he hath come down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swear to him by Jehovah, saying, I do not put thee to death by the sword;

Now you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera the Benjamite of Bahurim, who put a bitter curse on me on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to see me at Jordan, and I gave him my oath by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death by the sword.

Also, you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went away to the camp. And he descended to meet me when I crossed over the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, 'I will not put you to death by the sword,'

Thou hast with thee Shimei - See on 2-Samuel 16:5 (note), etc., and the notes on 2-Samuel 19:18-23 (note).

And behold thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim,.... Of whom, and of his native place; see Gill on 2-Samuel 16:5; he was now at Jerusalem, and so with Solomon, or near at hand; and was on his side, and of his party; see 1-Kings 1:8; but not to be trusted, or looked upon as a real friend:
which cursed me with a grievous curse, when I went to Mahanaim; a place on the other side Jordan, of which place, and the curses this man cursed David, with, see 2-Samuel 16:7;
but he came down to me at Jordan; after the defeat of Absalom, and when David was returning, and humbled himself to him, and begged his pardon:
and I sware unto him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword; but this oath was not binding upon his successor, and especially should he commit a new crime.

thou hast with thee Shimei--Though David promised him a pardon, which being enforced by the presence of a thousand followers, could not have been well refused, he warned his son against Shimei as a turbulent and dangerous character. It must not be supposed that in these dying instructions David was evincing a fierce, vindictive spirit. He is rather to be considered as acting in the character of a king and magistrate, in noticing crimes which he had not been in a condition to punish, and pointing out persons of whom Solomon would be under a necessity to rid himself as dangerous to the state. The grateful mention of Barzillai's kindness [1-Kings 2:7] was, however, a personal feeling that does honor to the warmth of his heart; and his silence as to Mephibosheth, the son of his beloved Jonathan, would imply the previous death of that prince.

I will not, &c. - The words are, The king said unto Shimei, thou shalt not die: and the king sware unto him, 2-Samuel 19:23. The oath, we see, was absolute. It was not, I will not put thee to death now. or, I will not put thee to death with the sword. But who can reconcile his charge to Solomon with this oath? Surely, considering the time of that charge, this next to the matter of Uriah, is the greatest blemish in all David's life.