1 Kings 3:16-27

New Life Version

Solomon’s Wisdom

¹⁶ Then two women who sold the use of their bodies came to the king and stood in front of him. ¹⁷ One of the women said, “O my lord, this woman and I live in the same house. And I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. ¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, this woman gave birth to a child also. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house. There were only the two of us. ¹⁹ This woman’s son died during the night, because she lay on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and her dead son in my arms. ²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I came nearer and looked, I saw that he was not my son who was born to me.” ²² Then the other woman said, “No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman said, “No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son.” They spoke this way in front of the king.

²³ Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one.’ The other says, ‘No! Your son is the dead one. My son is the living one.’” ²⁴ And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king. ²⁵ And the king said, “Divide the living child in two. Give half to the one woman and half to the other.” ²⁶ Then the mother of the living child had much pity for her son and said to the king, “O, my lord, give her the living child. Do not kill him.” But the other woman said, “He will not be mine or yours. Divide him.” ²⁷ Then the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child. Do not kill him. She is his mother.”