Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NLT

1 Kings 4
New Living Translation

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

4 King Solomon now ruled over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials:

Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.
6 Ahishar was manager of the palace property.
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.

7 Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. 8 These are the names of the twelve governors:

Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
11 Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.[a] (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)
12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan[b] near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh[c]) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)
16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.
19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead,[d] including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
There was also one governor over the land of Judah.[e]

Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. 21 [f]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[g] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.

22 The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal[h]; 23 also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.[i]

24 Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. 25 During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.[j]

26 Solomon had 4,000[k] stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.[l]

27 The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. 28 They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.

29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 4:11 Hebrew Naphath-dor, a variant spelling of Naphoth-dor.
  2. 4:12 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan; also in 4:12b.
  3. 4:13 Hebrew Jair son of Manasseh; compare 1 Chr 2:22.
  4. 4:19a Greek version reads of Gad; compare 4:13.
  5. 4:19b As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks of Judah. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  6. 4:21a Verses 4:21-34 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.
  7. 4:21b Hebrew the river; also in 4:24.
  8. 4:22 Hebrew 30 cors [6.6 kiloliters] of choice flour and 60 cors [13.2 kiloliters] of meal.
  9. 4:23 Or and fattened geese.
  10. 4:25 Hebrew each family lived under its own grapevine and under its own fig tree.
  11. 4:26a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 9:25); Hebrew reads 40,000.
  12. 4:26b Or 12,000 charioteers.
Close LSB

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
Next
1 Kings 3
1 Kings 5
Next
dropdown
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.