Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

Now (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 finished building his own house and the house of the Lord, and (D)the wall around Jerusalem. (E)The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

Now (F)Solomon loved the Lord, (G)walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he was sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. And (H)the king went to (I)Gibeon to sacrifice there, (J)because that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. (K)In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon (L)in a dream at night; and God said, “(M)Ask what you wish Me to give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer

Then Solomon said, “(N)You have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, (O)according as he walked before You in [b]truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and (P)You have [c]reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, Lord my God, (Q)You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet (R)I am like a little boy; (S)I do not know how to [d]go out or come in. And (T)Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, (U)a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So (V)give Your servant [e]an understanding heart to judge Your people, (W)to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this [f]great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 Now [g]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 [h]a long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand 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 And (AC)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)held a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Wisely Judges

16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Pardon me, my lord: [i]this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child [j]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 Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and she laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! But when I examined him closely 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 [k]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, “[l]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and [m]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 [n](AG)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 [o]the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judgment which the king had [p]handed down, they feared the king, because (AH)they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to [q]administer justice.

Solomon’s Officials

Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was (AI)the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; (AJ)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; and (AK)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and (AL)Abiathar were priests; and Azariah the son of Nathan was over (AM)the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant; and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year. And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the (AN)hill country of Ephraim; Ben-deker in Makaz and (AO)Shaalbim, and (AP)Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth ((AQ)Socoh was his and all the land of (AR)Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab in all [r]the (AS)hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud in (AT)Taanach and Megiddo, and all (AU)Beth-shean which is beside (AV)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to (AW)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of (AX)Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber in (AY)Ramoth-gilead ((AZ)the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: (BA)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo in (BB)Mahanaim; 15 (BC)Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); 16 Baana the son of (BD)Hushai in Asher and [s]Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar; 18 (BE)Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, (BF)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Solomon’s Power, Wealth, and Wisdom

20 (BG)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the [t]seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

21 [u](BH)Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms (BI)from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; (BJ)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon’s [v]provision for one day was [w]thirty kors of fine flour and [x]sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, twenty [y]pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese. 24 For he was ruling over everything [z]west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to (BK)Gaza, (BL)over all the kings [aa]west of the River; and (BM)he had peace on all sides surrounding him. 25 (BN)So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, (BO)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 (BP)Solomon had [ab]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking. 28 They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and (BQ)baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.

29 Now (BR)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of [ac]mind, (BS)like the sand that is on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all (BT)the [ad]people of the east and (BU)all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For (BV)he was wiser than all other people, more than (BW)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, (BX)Calcol, and [ae]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his [af]fame was known in all the surrounding nations. 32 (BY)He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. 33 He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish. 34 People (BZ)came from all the [ag]nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Alliance with King Hiram

[ah](CA)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for (CB)Hiram had [ai]always been a friend of David. Then (CC)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, “You know that (CD)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now (CE)the Lord my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor [aj]misfortune. So behold, (CF)I [ak]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ Now then, issue orders that they cut (CG)cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber. My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea (CH)to the place where you [al]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then (CI)you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household.” 10 So [am]Hiram [an]gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. 11 (CJ)Solomon then gave [ao]Hiram [ap]twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and [aq]twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. 12 And (CK)the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He [ar]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

Conscription of Laborers

13 Now (CL)King Solomon [as]conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men. 14 Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And (CM)Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. 15 Now (CN)Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains, 16 (CO)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the [at]project and ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17 Then (CP)the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and [au]Hiram’s builders and (CQ)the Gebalites [av]cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

Notas al pie

  1. 1 Kings 3:1 Lit made himself a son-in-law of Pharaoh
  2. 1 Kings 3:6 Or faithfulness
  3. 1 Kings 3:6 Lit kept
  4. 1 Kings 3:7 I.e., conduct daily business
  5. 1 Kings 3:9 Or a heart that listens
  6. 1 Kings 3:9 Lit heavy
  7. 1 Kings 3:10 Lit the thing was
  8. 1 Kings 3:11 Lit many days
  9. 1 Kings 3:17 Lit I and this woman
  10. 1 Kings 3:17 Lit with her in
  11. 1 Kings 3:22 Lit this one was saying
  12. 1 Kings 3:23 Lit this one
  13. 1 Kings 3:23 Lit this one
  14. 1 Kings 3:26 Lit her compassion grew hot
  15. 1 Kings 3:27 Lit her the living
  16. 1 Kings 3:28 Lit judged
  17. 1 Kings 3:28 Lit do
  18. 1 Kings 4:11 Or Naphoth-dor
  19. 1 Kings 4:16 Or in Aloth
  20. 1 Kings 4:20 Lit sea
  21. 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5:1 in Heb
  22. 1 Kings 4:22 Lit bread
  23. 1 Kings 4:22 About 231 cubic feet or 6.5 cubic meters
  24. 1 Kings 4:22 About 462 cubic feet or 13 cubic meters
  25. 1 Kings 4:23 Lit oxen of the pasture
  26. 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
  27. 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
  28. 1 Kings 4:26 One LXX ms reads 4,000, cf. 2 Chr 9:25
  29. 1 Kings 4:29 Lit heart
  30. 1 Kings 4:30 Lit sons
  31. 1 Kings 4:31 In 1 Chr 2:6, Dara
  32. 1 Kings 4:31 Lit name
  33. 1 Kings 4:34 Lit peoples
  34. 1 Kings 5:1 Ch 5:15 in Heb
  35. 1 Kings 5:1 Lit all the days
  36. 1 Kings 5:4 Lit evil occurrence
  37. 1 Kings 5:5 Lit say
  38. 1 Kings 5:9 Lit send to me
  39. 1 Kings 5:10 Heb Hirom
  40. 1 Kings 5:10 Lit was giving
  41. 1 Kings 5:11 In 2 Chr 2:3, Huram
  42. 1 Kings 5:11 About 154,000 cubic feet or 4,360 cubic meters
  43. 1 Kings 5:11 About 154 cubic feet or 4.4 cubic meters
  44. 1 Kings 5:12 Lit spoke to
  45. 1 Kings 5:13 Lit raised up
  46. 1 Kings 5:16 Lit work
  47. 1 Kings 5:18 Heb Hirom’s
  48. 1 Kings 5:18 Or chiseled

Solomon Asks for Wisdom(A)

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married(B) his daughter.(C) He brought her to the City of David(D) until he finished building his palace(E) and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places,(F) because a temple had not yet been built for the Name(G) of the Lord. Solomon showed his love(H) for the Lord by walking(I) according to the instructions(J) given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.(K)

The king went to Gibeon(L) to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared(M) to Solomon during the night in a dream,(N) and God said, “Ask(O) for whatever you want me to give you.”

Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful(P) to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son(Q) to sit on his throne this very day.

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child(R) and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen,(S) a great people, too numerous to count or number.(T) So give your servant a discerning(U) heart to govern your people and to distinguish(V) between right and wrong. For who is able(W) to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked(X) for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment(Y) in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked.(Z) I will give you a wise(AA) and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not(AB) asked for—both wealth and honor(AC)—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal(AD) among kings. 14 And if you walk(AE) in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”(AF) 15 Then Solomon awoke(AG)—and he realized it had been a dream.(AH)

He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings(AI) and fellowship offerings.(AJ) Then he gave a feast(AK) for all his court.

A Wise Ruling

16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved(AL) out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom(AM) from God to administer justice.

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. And these were his chief officials:(AN)

Azariah(AO) son of Zadok—the priest;

Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;(AP)

Jehoshaphat(AQ) son of Ahilud—recorder;

Benaiah(AR) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;

Zadok(AS) and Abiathar—priests;

Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;

Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;

Ahishar—palace administrator;(AT)

Adoniram(AU) son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.(AV)

Solomon had twelve district governors(AW) over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. These are their names:

Ben-Hur—in the hill country(AX) of Ephraim;

Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(AY) Beth Shemesh(AZ) and Elon Bethhanan;

10 Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh(BA) and all the land of Hepher(BB) were his);

11 Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor(BC) (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);

12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(BD) next to Zarethan(BE) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(BF) across to Jokmeam;(BG)

13 Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair(BH) son of Manasseh in Gilead(BI) were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities(BJ) with bronze gate bars);

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;(BK)

15 Ahimaaz(BL)—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);

16 Baana son of Hushai(BM)—in Asher and in Aloth;

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

18 Shimei(BN) son of Ela—in Benjamin;

19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(BO) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(BP) king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

Solomon’s Daily Provisions

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand(BQ) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(BR) 21 And Solomon ruled(BS) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(BT) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(BU) These countries brought tribute(BV) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

22 Solomon’s daily provisions(BW) were thirty cors[a] of the finest flour and sixty cors[b] of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.(BX) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(BY) to Gaza, and had peace(BZ) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(CA) lived in safety,(CB) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(CC)

26 Solomon had four[c] thousand stalls for chariot horses,(CD) and twelve thousand horses.[d]

27 The district governors,(CE) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon wisdom(CF) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(CG) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(CH) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(CI) 31 He was wiser(CJ) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs(CK) and his songs(CL) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(CM) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings(CN) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]

Preparations for Building the Temple(CO)

[f]When Hiram(CP) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

“You know that because of the wars(CQ) waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build(CR) a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(CS) But now the Lord my God has given me rest(CT) on every side, and there is no adversary(CU) or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple(CV) for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’(CW)

“So give orders that cedars(CX) of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord(CY) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea(CZ), and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food(DA) for my royal household.”

10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors[g] of wheat as food(DB) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths[h][i] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,(DC) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(DD)

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(DE) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram(DF) was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[j] foremen(DG) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(DH) large blocks of high-grade stone(DI) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram(DJ) and workers from Byblos(DK) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Notas al pie

  1. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons
  2. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty
  4. 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers
  5. 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.
  6. 1 Kings 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1-18 is numbered 5:15-32.
  7. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,250 metric tons
  8. 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 2:10); Hebrew twenty cors
  9. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
  10. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred