1 Kings 3:22-27

New American Standard Bible

²² Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But ^[a]the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” So they spoke before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “^[b]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and ^[c]the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” ²⁴ And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵ And the king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” ²⁶ But the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for ^[d](A)she was deeply stirred over her son, and she said, “Pardon me, my lord! Give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other woman was saying, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!” ²⁷ Then the king replied, “Give ^[e]the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.”