1 Kings 3
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord Appears to Solomon
3 Solomon made an alliance[a] with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter.(A) Solomon brought her to the city of David(B) until he finished building his palace,(C) the Lord’s temple,(D) and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.(E) 2 However, the people were sacrificing on the high places,(F) because until that time a temple for the Lord’s name(G) had not been built. 3 Solomon loved the Lord(H) by walking in the statutes of his father David,(I) but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon(J) to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.(K) 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon(L) in a dream at night.(M) God said, “Ask.(N) What should I give you?”
6 And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.[b] You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne,(O) as it is today.(P)
7 “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place.(Q) Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.[c](R) 8 Your servant is among your people you have chosen,(S) a people too many to be numbered or counted.(T) 9 So give your servant a receptive heart to judge(U) your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?” (V)
10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. 11 So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life[d] or riches for yourself,(W) or the death[e] of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to administer justice,(X) 12 I will therefore do what you have asked.(Y) I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.(Z) 13 In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor,(AA) so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.(AB) 14 If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”(AC)
15 Then Solomon woke up(AD) and realized it had been a dream.(AE) He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant,(AF) and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.(AG) Then he held a feast(AH) for all his servants.
Solomon’s Wisdom
16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.(AI) 17 One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house. 18 On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else[f] was with us in the house; just the two of us were there. 19 During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”
22 “No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.”
The first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So they argued before the king.
23 The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’” 24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king. 25 And the king said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion[g](AJ) for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!”
But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”
27 The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom(AK) was in him to carry out justice.
1 Kings 3
Names of God Bible
Solomon’s Marriage(A)
3 Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). After marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, Solomon brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.
2 The people were still sacrificing at other worship sites because a temple for the name of Yahweh had not yet been built. 3 Solomon loved Yahweh and lived by his father David’s rules. However, he still sacrificed and burned incense at these other worship sites.
Solomon Requests Wisdom from God(B)
4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice because it was the most important place of worship. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar.
5 In Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. Elohim said, “What can I give you?”
6 Solomon responded, “You’ve shown great love to my father David, who was your servant. He lived in your presence with truth, righteousness, and commitment. And you continued to show him your great love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.
7 “Yahweh my Elohim, although I’m young and inexperienced, you’ve made me king in place of my father David. 8 I’m among your people whom you have chosen. They are too numerous to count or record. 9 Give me a heart that listens so that I can judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?”
10 Adonay[a] was pleased that Solomon asked for this. 11 Elohim replied, “You’ve asked for this and not for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Instead, you’ve asked for understanding so that you can do what is right. 12 So I’m going to do what you’ve asked. I’m giving you a wise and understanding heart so that there will never be anyone like you. 13 I’m also giving you what you haven’t asked for—riches and honor—so that no other king will be like you as long as you live. 14 And if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did, then I will also give you a long life.”
15 Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the ark of Adonay’s promise. He sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings and held a banquet for all his officials.
Solomon’s Wisdom in Action
16 A short time later two prostitutes came to the king and stood in front of him. 17 One woman said to him, “Sir, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a son while she was with me in the house. 18 Two days later this woman also gave birth to a son. We were alone. No one else was with us. Just the two of us were in the house. 19 That night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on top of him. 20 So she got up during the night and took my son, who was beside me, while I was asleep. She held him in her arms. Then she laid her dead son in my arms. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, he was dead! I took a good look at him and realized that he wasn’t my son at all!”
22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive—your son is dead.”
The first woman kept on saying, “No! Your son is dead—my son is alive.” So they argued in front of the king.
23 The king said, “This one keeps saying, ‘My son is alive—your son is dead,’ and that one keeps saying, ‘No! Your son is dead—my son is alive.’”
24 So the king told his servants to bring him a sword. When they brought it, 25 he said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to the one and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was still alive was deeply moved by her love for the child. She said to the king, “Please, sir, give her the living child. Please don’t kill him!”
But the other woman said, “He won’t be mine or yours. Cut him in two.”
27 The king replied, “Give the living child to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She is his mother.”
28 All Israel heard about the decision the king made. They respected the king very highly, because they saw he possessed wisdom from Elohim to do what was right.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 3:10 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek; other Hebrew manuscripts “Lord.”
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.