1 Kings 3:22-28

English Standard Version

²²But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.

²³Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” ²⁴And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. ²⁵And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” ²⁶Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because ^(A)her heart yearned for her son, “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.” ²⁷Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” ²⁸And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that ^(B)the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

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1 Kings 3:22-28

New American Standard Bible

²²Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But ^[a]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.

²³Then the king said, “^[b]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and ^[c]the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” ²⁴And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵And the king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” ²⁶But the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for ^[d]^(A)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!” ²⁷Then the king replied, “Give ^[e]the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” ²⁸When all Israel heard about the judgment which the king had ^[f]handed down, they feared the king, because ^(B)they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to ^[g]administer justice.

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Footnotes

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 hot
1 Kings 3:27 Lit her the living
1 Kings 3:28 Lit judged
1 Kings 3:28 Lit do

1 Kings 3:22-28

New International Version

²²The 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.

²³The 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.’”

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

²⁶The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved^(A) 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!”

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

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

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