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1 Kings 3
New English Translation

The Lord Gives Solomon Wisdom

3 Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David[a] until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places,[b] because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord.[c] 3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following[d] the practices[e] of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places.[f] Solomon would offer up[g] 1,000 burnt sacrifices on the altar there. 5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared[h] to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell[i] me what I should give you.” 6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated[j] great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served[k] you faithfully, properly, and sincerely.[l] You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.[m] 7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.[n] 8 Your servant stands[o] among your chosen people;[p] they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning mind[q] so he can make judicial decisions for[r] your people and distinguish right from wrong.[s] Otherwise[t] no one is able[u] to make judicial decisions for[v] this great nation of yours.”[w] 10 The Lord[x] was pleased that Solomon made this request.[y] 11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,[z] 12 I[aa] grant your request[ab] and give[ac] you a wise and discerning mind[ad] superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.[ae] 13 Furthermore, I am giving[af] you what you did not request—riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.[ag] 14 If you follow my instructions[ah] by obeying[ai] my rules and regulations, just as your father David did,[aj] then I will grant you long life.”[ak] 15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream.[al] He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings,[am] and held a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Demonstrates His Wisdom

16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us.[an] 19 This woman’s child suffocated[ao] during the night when she rolled[ap] on top of him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there[aq] he was, dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.”[ar] 22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king.[as]

23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword.” So they placed a sword before the king. 25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 26 The real mother[at] spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were awakened.[au] She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!”[av] But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Let them cut him in two!” 27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected[aw] the king, for they realized[ax] that he possessed divine wisdom[ay] to make judicial decisions.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 3:1 sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  2. 1 Kings 3:2 sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.
  3. 1 Kings 3:2 tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
  4. 1 Kings 3:3 tn Heb “by walking in.”
  5. 1 Kings 3:3 tn Or “policies, rules.”
  6. 1 Kings 3:4 tn Heb “for it was the great high place.”
  7. 1 Kings 3:4 tn Or, “customarily offered up.” The verb form is an imperfect, which is probably used here in a customary sense to indicate continued or repeated action in past time. See GKC 314 §107.b.
  8. 1 Kings 3:5 tn Or “revealed himself.”
  9. 1 Kings 3:5 tn Heb “ask.”
  10. 1 Kings 3:6 tn Heb “did.”
  11. 1 Kings 3:6 tn Heb “walked before.”
  12. 1 Kings 3:6 tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.”
  13. 1 Kings 3:6 tn Heb “and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day.”
  14. 1 Kings 3:7 tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”
  15. 1 Kings 3:8 tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  16. 1 Kings 3:8 tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”
  17. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
  18. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “to judge.”
  19. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”
  20. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.
  21. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”
  22. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “to judge.”
  23. 1 Kings 3:9 tn Heb “your numerous people.”
  24. 1 Kings 3:10 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  25. 1 Kings 3:10 tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”
  26. 1 Kings 3:11 tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.”
  27. 1 Kings 3:12 tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.
  28. 1 Kings 3:12 tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.
  29. 1 Kings 3:12 tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).
  30. 1 Kings 3:12 tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
  31. 1 Kings 3:12 tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”
  32. 1 Kings 3:13 tn The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made.
  33. 1 Kings 3:13 tn Heb “so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days.” The LXX lacks the words “all your days.”
  34. 1 Kings 3:14 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
  35. 1 Kings 3:14 tn Or “keeping.”
  36. 1 Kings 3:14 tn Heb “walked.”
  37. 1 Kings 3:14 tn Heb “I will lengthen your days.”
  38. 1 Kings 3:15 tn Heb “and look, a dream.”
  39. 1 Kings 3:15 tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
  40. 1 Kings 3:18 sn There was no one else in the house except the two of us. In other words, there were no other witnesses to the births who could identify which child belonged to which mother.
  41. 1 Kings 3:19 tn Heb “died.”
  42. 1 Kings 3:19 tn Heb “lay, slept.”
  43. 1 Kings 3:21 tn Heb “look.”
  44. 1 Kings 3:21 tn Heb “look, it was not my son to whom I had given birth.”
  45. 1 Kings 3:22 tn Heb “they spoke before the king.” Another option is to translate, “they argued before the king.”
  46. 1 Kings 3:26 tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”
  47. 1 Kings 3:26 tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”
  48. 1 Kings 3:26 tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.
  49. 1 Kings 3:28 tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.”
  50. 1 Kings 3:28 tn Heb “saw.”
  51. 1 Kings 3:28 tn Heb “the wisdom of God was in his midst for performing justice.” The phrase “wisdom of God” may be taken as an attributive genitive, “divine wisdom,” or as a genitive of source, “wisdom from God.” Even in English they are basically the same, since wisdom from God is divine in character.
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列王纪上 3
Chinese New Version (Traditional)

所羅門娶法老女兒為妻

3 所羅門與埃及王法老結親，娶了法老的女兒，把她迎進大衛城，直等到他的王宮、耶和華的殿和耶路撒冷周圍的城牆都建造完了。 2 不過在那些日子，人民仍然在邱壇上獻祭，因為還沒有為耶和華的名建造殿宇。

3 所羅門愛耶和華，遵行他父親大衛的律例；只是他仍然在邱壇上宰殺和焚燒祭牲。

所羅門祈求智慧(A)

4 有一次，王到基遍去獻祭，因為那裡有極大的邱壇。所羅門在那祭壇上獻上了一千燔祭。 5 那天晚上在基遍，耶和華在夢中向所羅門顯現；　神說：“你無論求甚麼，我必賜給你。” 6 所羅門說：“你僕人我父親大衛以誠實、公義和正直的心在你面前行事為人，你就以極大的慈愛待他；你又為他存留這極大的慈愛，賜給他一個兒子坐在他的王位上，正如今日一樣。 7 耶和華我的　神啊，現在你使僕人接續我的父親大衛作王，但我還年輕，不知道應當怎樣處事。 8 僕人住在你揀選的子民中；這些子民很多，多得不能數算。 9 所以，求你賜給僕人一顆明辨的心，可以判斷你的子民，能辨別是非，因為誰能判斷你這眾多的子民呢？”

10 所羅門因為求這些事，就蒙主的喜悅。 11 　神對他說：“因為你求這事，不為自己求長壽，不為自己求財富，也不求你仇敵的性命，單單為自己求聰明可以明辨是非公平， 12 我就照著你所求的而行；賜給你一個智慧和明辨的心，在你以前沒有人像你，在你以後也不會有人像你。 13 連你所沒有求的，我也賜給你，就是財富、尊榮，以至你一生的年日，在列王之中沒有一人能像你。 14 如果你遵行了我的道，謹守我的律例、誡命，正如你父親大衛所行的，我就必延長你的壽數。”

15 所羅門醒來，原來是一個夢。於是他回到耶路撒冷，站在耶和華的約櫃前，獻上燔祭，又獻上平安祭，也為他的眾臣僕擺設筵席。

智慧的判斷

16 有一天，有兩個作妓女的婦人來見王，站在他面前。 17 其中一個婦人說：“我主啊，我和這婦人同住；她與我在房子裡的時候，我生了一個孩子。 18 我生了孩子以後的第三天，這婦人也生了一個孩子。我們都住在一起。除了我們兩個人在房子裡以外，再沒有別人與我們一起在這房子裡。 19 夜間，這婦人睡覺的時候，壓死了她的孩子。 20 她卻在半夜，趁著婢女睡著的時候，起來，從我身旁把兒子抱去，放在她的懷裡；又把她死了的兒子放在我的懷裡。 21 第二天早上我起來，要給我的兒子吃奶的時候，發覺他死了。那天早晨我再仔細察看，發覺他並不是我所生的兒子！” 22 那一個婦人說：“不！活的兒子是我的，死的兒子才是你的。”但這一個婦人說：“不！死的兒子是你的，活的兒子才是我的。”她們在王面前彼此爭辯。

23 王說：“這個婦人說：‘活的兒子是我的，死的兒子才是你的’，那個婦人卻說：‘不！死的兒子是你的，活的兒子才是我的。’” 24 王就吩咐：“給我拿一把刀來！”人就把刀帶到王面前。 25 王說：“把活的孩子劈成兩半，一半給這個婦人，一半給那個婦人。” 26 那活孩子的母親因為愛子心切，就對王說：“我主啊，把那活的孩子給她吧，千萬不可殺死他！”另一個婦人卻說：“這孩子也不歸我，也不歸你，把他劈開吧！” 27 王回答說：“把活孩子給這個婦人，千萬不可殺死他，這個婦人實在是他的母親。” 28 以色列眾人聽見王判斷的這案件，就都敬畏他，因為看見他心裡有　神的智慧，能夠判案。

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