And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.

The king also sent, and called for Semei, and said to him: Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there: and go not out from thence any whither.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and abide there, and go not forth thence anywhere.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence to any place whatever.

And the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith to him, 'Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and thou hast dwelt there, and dost not go out thence any where;

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build you an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth there any where.

Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Make a house for yourself in Jerusalem and keep there and go to no other place.

Also, the king sent for and summoned Shimei, and he said to him: "Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and live there. And do not depart from that place to here or to there.

The object, apparently, was to keep Shimei under the immediate eye of the government. Shimei's old home, Bahurim, lay east of Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho, 2-Samuel 17:18, and could only be reached by crossing the Kedron valley. Solomon assumes, that, if he quits the city, it will probably be in this direction 1-Kings 2:37.

Build thee a house - Thus he gave him the whole city for a prison, and this certainly could have reduced him to no hardships.

And the king sent and called for Shimei,.... Who had cursed his father; he lived at Bahurim, in the tribe of Benjamin, and from thence he sent for him to him, 2-Samuel 16:5;
and said unto him, build thee an house in Jerusalem and dwell there,
and go not from thence any where; the orders were to remove from Bahurim to Jerusalem, where he was to provide himself a dwelling house, and there continue, and never go out of the city, at least not further on any side of it than it was to the brook Kidron, which was not more than half a mile from the city. This Solomon ordered, to prevent this man going about in the country sowing and stirring up sedition; and that he might be under his eye and notice, that should he commit any evil, and give him an opportunity of punishing him, he might do it as his father had directed him; and he might judge from the temper of the man, and indeed from the nature of men in general, that what they are forbidden they are the most prone unto, that he would transgress in this case, and give him an occasion against him.

the king sent and called for Shimei--He was probably residing at Bahurim, his native place. But, as he was a suspicious character, Solomon condemned him henceforth to live in Jerusalem, on the penalty of death, for going without the gates. He submitted to this confinement for three years, when, violating his oath, he was arrested and put to death by Solomon for perjury, aggravated by his former crime of high treason against David [1-Kings 2:42-44].

Go not forth - This Solomon ordered, both for his own security; and as a penalty for his former wickedness.