1 Kings 2:24

24. Adonijah shall be put to death this day To the charge of those interpreters who condemn this vigorous severity of Solomon as a needless act of cruelty, the following words of Keil are an excellent and all-sufficient reply: “All attack or censure depends on un-biblical views of law and right, and on a complete misunderstanding of the theocratic point of view, according to which alone the question can be decided. By the attempt to usurp the throne Adonijah had already rebelled against Jehovah, who had appointed Solomon as the successor of David. Now if, after Solomon had forgiven his transgression, he comes out with a new attempt at rebellion, duty to God and the theocracy demanded of Solomon not to have respect to consanguinity, but to act according to the rigour of the law.”