17 A thousand men from Benjamin were with him. Ziba too, the servant of Saul’s house, along with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, rushed to the Jordan ahead of the king
18 to do the work of ferrying over the king’s household and to do whatever pleased him.Gera’s son Shimei fell down before the king when he crossed the Jordan.
19 He said to the king, "May my master not hold me guilty or remember your servant’s wrongdoing that day my master the king left Jerusalem. Please forget about it, Your Majesty,
20 because your servant knows that I have sinned. But look, I am the first person from the entire family of Joseph to come down today and meet my master the king."
21 Zeruiah’s son Abishai responded, "Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for that—for cursing the Lord’s anointed?"
22 But David said, "My problems aren’t yours, you sons of Zeruiah. Why are you becoming my enemy today? Should anyone in Israel be put to death today? Don’t I know that today I am again king over Israel?"
23 Then the king told Shimei, "You will not die." And the king swore this to him.