1 Kings 3
Legacy Standard Bible
Solomon’s Marriage and Sacrifices
3 Then (A)Solomon [a]formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter (B)and brought her to the city of David (C)until he had completed building his own house and the house of Yahweh and (D)the wall around Jerusalem. 2 (E)The people were still sacrificing on the high places because there was no house built for the name of Yahweh until those days.
3 And (F)Solomon loved Yahweh, (G)walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 (H)And the king went to (I)Gibeon to sacrifice there, (J)for that was the great high place; Solomon offered one thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 (K)In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon (L)in a dream at night; and God said, “(M)Ask what I should give to you.”
God Gives Wisdom to Solomon
6 Then Solomon said, “(N)You have shown great lovingkindness to Your slave David my father, (O)according to how he walked before You in [b]truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and (P)You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 So now, O Yahweh my God, (Q)You have made Your slave king in place of my father David, yet (R)I am but a little child; (S)I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 (T)And Your slave is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, (U)a numerous people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So (V)give Your slave a listening heart to judge Your people (W)to discern between good and evil. For who is able to [c]judge this glorious people of Yours?”
10 [d]And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have (X)not asked for yourself [e]long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to listen to justice, 12 behold, (Y)I have done according to your words. Behold, (Z)I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 13 (AA)I have also given you what you have not asked, both (AB)riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. 14 (AC)Now if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will (AD)prolong your days.”
15 Then (AE)Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and (AF)made a feast for all his servants.
Solomon Wisely Judges
16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, “Oh, my lord, [f]this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night because she lay on him. 20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But [g]the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, “[h]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and [i]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 Then the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, for [j](AG)she was deeply stirred with compassion over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!” 27 Then the king said, “Give [k]the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother.” 28 Then all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had [l]handed down, and they feared the king, for (AH)they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 3:1 Lit made himself a son-in-law of Pharaoh
- 1 Kings 3:6 Or faithfulness
- 1 Kings 3:9 Or do justice for
- 1 Kings 3:10 Lit the thing
- 1 Kings 3:11 Lit many days
- 1 Kings 3:17 Lit I and this woman
- 1 Kings 3:22 Lit this one was saying
- 1 Kings 3:23 Lit this one
- 1 Kings 3:23 Lit this one
- 1 Kings 3:26 Lit her compassion grew warm
- 1 Kings 3:27 Lit her the living child
- 1 Kings 3:28 Lit judged
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.
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