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1 Kings 4
Legacy Standard Bible

Solomon’s Officials

4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 These were his officials:

Azariah the son of Zadok was (A)the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes;
(B)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
4 and (C)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army;
and Zadok and (D)Abiathar were priests;
5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over (E)the deputies;
and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s friend;
6 and Ahishar was over the household;
and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

7 Now Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who sustained the king and his household; each man had to sustain them for a month in the year. 8 These are their names:

Ben-hur, in the (F)hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker in Makaz and (G)Shaalbim and (H)Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth ((I)Socoh was his and all the land of (J)Hepher);
11 Ben-abinadab, in all [a]the (K)height of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in (L)Taanach and Megiddo, and all (M)Beth-shean which is beside (N)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to (O)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of (P)Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in (Q)Ramoth-gilead (now [b](R)Havvoth-Jair—Jair being the son of Manasseh—which is in Gilead was his: (S)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 (T)Mahanaim;
15 (U)Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana the son of (V)Hushai, in Asher and [c]Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 (W)Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, (X)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.

Judah’s and Israel’s Abundance and Security

20 (Y)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the [d]seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and being glad.

21 [e](Z)Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms (AA)from the [f]River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; (AB)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 And Solomon’s [g]provision for one day was [h]thirty kors of fine flour and [i]sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, twenty [j]pasture-fed oxen, one hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over everything [k]west of the [l]River, from Tiphsah even to (AC)Gaza, (AD)over all the kings [m]west of the [n]River; and (AE)he had peace on all sides around about him. 25 (AF)So Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and his fig tree, (AG)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 (AH)Solomon had [o]40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And these deputies sustained King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. 28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and (AI)swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to the legal judgment for him.

29 And (AJ)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of understanding in his heart, (AK)like the sand that is on the seashore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all (AL)the sons of the east and (AM)all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 And (AN)he was wiser than all men, than (AO)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, (AP)Calcol, and [p]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and the renown of his name was in all the surrounding nations. 32 (AQ)He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. 34 [q]And men (AR)came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:11 Or Naphoth-dor
  2. 1 Kings 4:13 Or the towns of Jair
  3. 1 Kings 4:16 Or in Aloth
  4. 1 Kings 4:20 Lit sea
  5. 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5:1 in Heb
  6. 1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates River
  7. 1 Kings 4:22 Lit bread
  8. 1 Kings 4:22 Approx. 195 bu. or 6.9 metric tons, a kor was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
  9. 1 Kings 4:22 Approx. 390 bu. or 13.8 metric tons
  10. 1 Kings 4:23 Lit oxen of the pasture
  11. 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
  12. 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates River
  13. 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
  14. 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates River
  15. 1 Kings 4:26 One ms 4,000, cf. 2 Chr 9:25
  16. 1 Kings 4:31 In 1 Chr 2:6, Dara
  17. 1 Kings 4:34 Lit they
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1 Kings 4
New International Version

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

4 So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2 And these were his chief officials:(A)

Azariah(B) son of Zadok—the priest;

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

Jehoshaphat(D) son of Ahilud—recorder;

4 Benaiah(E) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;

Zadok(F) and Abiathar—priests;

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

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

6 Ahishar—palace administrator;(G)

Adoniram(H) son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.(I)

7 Solomon had twelve district governors(J) 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. 8 These are their names:

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

9 Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(L) Beth Shemesh(M) and Elon Bethhanan;

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

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

12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(Q) next to Zarethan(R) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(S) across to Jokmeam;(T)

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

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

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

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

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

18 Shimei(AA) son of Ela—in Benjamin;

19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(AB) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(AC) 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(AD) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(AE) 21 And Solomon ruled(AF) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(AG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(AH) These countries brought tribute(AI) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

22 Solomon’s daily provisions(AJ) 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.(AK) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(AL) to Gaza, and had peace(AM) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(AN) lived in safety,(AO) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(AP)

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

27 The district governors,(AR) 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(AS) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(AT) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(AU) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(AV) 31 He was wiser(AW) 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(AX) and his songs(AY) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(AZ) 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(BA) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]

Footnotes

  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.
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