1 Kings 3
New King James Version
Solomon Requests Wisdom(A)
3 Now (B)Solomon made [a]a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her (C)to the City of David until he had finished building his (D)own house, and (E)the house of the Lord, and (F)the wall all around Jerusalem. 2 (G)Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. 3 And Solomon (H)loved the Lord, (I)walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
4 Now (J)the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, (K)for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 (L)At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon (M)in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
6 (N)And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he (O)walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You (P)have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a (Q)little child; I do not know how (R)to go out or come in. 8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You (S)have chosen, a great people, (T)too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 (U)Therefore give to Your servant an [b]understanding heart (V)to judge Your people, that I may (W)discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have (X)not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12 (Y)behold, I have done according to your words; (Z)see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13 And I have also (AA)given you what you have not asked: both (AB)riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 14 So (AC)if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, (AD)as your father David walked, then I will (AE)lengthen[c] your days.”
15 Then Solomon (AF)awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and (AG)made a feast for all his servants.
Solomon’s Wise Judgment
16 Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and (AH)stood before him. 17 And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; [d]no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.”
And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.”
Thus they spoke before the king.
23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for (AI)she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!”
But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the (AJ)wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 3:1 an alliance
- 1 Kings 3:9 Lit. hearing
- 1 Kings 3:14 prolong
- 1 Kings 3:18 Lit. no stranger
1 Kings 3
Expanded Bible
Solomon Asks for Wisdom(A)
3 Solomon made an ·agreement [alliance] with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter and bringing her to the City of David [C Jerusalem]. At this time Solomon was still building his ·palace [L house] and the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, as well as a wall around Jerusalem. 2 The ·Temple [L house] for the ·worship [L name] of the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still sacrificing at ·altars in many places of worship [L the high places; C worship sites that became associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God]. 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 [L he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places; 3:2].
4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice, because it was the most important ·place of worship [high place; 3:2]. He offered a thousand burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] 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 [showed faithful love/great lovingkindness] to your servant, my father David. He ·obeyed you, and he was honest and lived right [walked before you in truth/faithfulness and righteousness and integrity of heart]. You showed ·great kindness [faithful love; lovingkindness] to him when you allowed his son to ·be king [L sit on his throne] after him. 7 Lord my God, now you have made me, your servant, king in place of my father David. But I am like a little child; I don’t know how to ·do what must be done [L go out or come in]. 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 [discerns; L listens], so I can ·rule [govern] the people in the right way and will ·know the difference between right and wrong [discern between good and evil]. ·Otherwise, it is impossible to rule this great people of yours [L For who is capable of governing this great people?].”
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 [L life] of your enemies. Since you asked for ·wisdom to make the right decisions [understanding to discern what is right/just], 12 I will do what you asked. I will give you ·wisdom and understanding [a wise and discerning/L listening heart] that ·is greater than anyone has had in the past or will have in [will make you unlike anyone in the past or in] the future. 13 I will also give you what you did not ask for: riches and ·honor [fame]. During your life no other king will be as great as you. 14 If you ·follow me [L walk in my ways] and obey my ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands, as your father David did, I will also give you a long life.”
15 After Solomon woke up ·from the [and realized it had been a] dream, he went to Jerusalem. He stood before the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord, where he made burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1]. After that, he gave a ·feast [banquet] for all his ·leaders and officers [L servants].
Solomon Makes a Wise Decision
16 One day two women who were ·prostitutes [T harlots] 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 [lay] on her baby, and he died. 20 So she took my son from my bed during the night while ·I [L your servant] was asleep, and she ·carried him to her bed [L laid him at her breast]. Then she ·put the dead baby in my bed [L laid her dead son at my breast]. 21 The next morning when I got up to ·feed my baby [nurse my son], I saw that he was dead! When I looked at him more ·closely [carefully in the morning light], 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 [son] 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 [Divide] the living baby into two pieces, and give each woman half.”
26 The real mother of the living child was ·full of love [filled with compassion; deeply moved] for her son. So she said to the king, “Please, my ·master [lord], 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 [Divide him]!”
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 [judgment; verdict], they ·respected him very much [L were in awe of/feared the king]. They saw he had wisdom from God to ·make the right decisions [render/administer justice].
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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.