1 Kings 3
Holman 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 live in 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 1,000 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[b] integrity. 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[d] people too numerous to be numbered or counted.(T) 9 So give Your servant an obedient 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[e] or riches for yourself,(W) or the death[f] of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand 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 man in any kingdom 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[g] 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 at her breast, 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 Solomon 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[h](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.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 3:1 Lit Solomon made himself a son-in-law
- 1 Kings 3:6 Lit and with You
- 1 Kings 3:7 Lit am a little youth and do not know to go out or come in
- 1 Kings 3:8 Lit chosen many
- 1 Kings 3:11 Lit for many days
- 1 Kings 3:11 Lit life
- 1 Kings 3:18 Lit No stranger
- 1 Kings 3:26 Lit because her compassion grew hot
1 Kings 3
New Century Version
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
3 Solomon made an agreement with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter and bringing her to Jerusalem. At this time Solomon was still building his palace and the Temple of the Lord, as well as a wall around Jerusalem. 2 The Temple for the worship of the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still sacrificing at altars in many places of worship. 3 Solomon showed he loved the Lord by following the commands his father David had given him, except many other places of worship were still used to offer sacrifices and to burn incense.
4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice, because it was the most important place of worship. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 While he was at Gibeon, the Lord appeared to him in a dream during the night. God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
6 Solomon answered, “You were very kind to your servant, my father David. He obeyed you, and he was honest and lived right. You showed great kindness to him when you allowed his son to be king after him. 7 Lord my God, now you have made me, your servant, king in my father’s place. But I am like a little child; I don’t know how to do what must be done. 8 I, your servant, am here among your chosen people, and there are too many of them to count. 9 I ask that you give me a heart that understands, so I can rule the people in the right way and will know the difference between right and wrong. Otherwise, it is impossible to rule this great people of yours.”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked this. 11 So God said to him, “You did not ask for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Since you asked for wisdom to make the right decisions, 12 I will do what you asked. I will give you wisdom and understanding that is greater than anyone has had in the past or will have in the future. 13 I will also give you what you did not ask for: riches and honor. During your life no other king will be as great as you. 14 If you follow me and obey my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will also give you a long life.”
15 After Solomon woke up from the dream, he went to Jerusalem. He stood before the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord, where he made burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. After that, he gave a feast for all his leaders and officers.
Solomon Makes a Wise Decision
16 One day two women who were prostitutes came to Solomon. As they stood before him, 17 one of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was there with me. 18 Three days later this woman also gave birth to a baby. No one else was in the house with us; it was just the two of us. 19 One night this woman rolled over on her baby, and he died. 20 So she took my son from my bed during the night while I was asleep, and she carried him to her bed. Then she put the dead baby in my bed. 21 The next morning when I got up to feed my baby, I saw that he was dead! When I looked at him more closely, I realized he was not my son.”
22 “No!” the other woman cried. “The living baby is my son, and the dead baby is yours!”
But the first woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours, and the living one is mine!” So the two women argued before the king.
23 Then King Solomon said, “One of you says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead.’ Then the other one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and my son is alive.’”
24 The king sent his servants to get a sword. When they brought it to him, 25 he said, “Cut the living baby into two pieces, and give each woman half.”
26 The real mother of the living child was full of love for her son. So she said to the king, “Please, my master, don’t kill him! Give the baby to her!”
But the other woman said, “Neither of us will have him. Cut him into two pieces!”
27 Then King Solomon said, “Don’t kill him. Give the baby to the first woman, because she is the real mother.”
28 When the people of Israel heard about King Solomon’s decision, they respected him very much. They saw he had wisdom from God to make the right decisions.
1 Kings 3
King James Version
3 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.
3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
15 And 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 up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson