1 Kings 4
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Solomon’s Officials
4 King Solomon reigned over all Israel,(A) 2 and these were his officials:(B)
Azariah son of Zadok, priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha, secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, court historian;
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army;
Zadok 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, in charge of the palace;
and Adoniram son of Abda, in charge of forced labour.
7 Solomon had twelve district governors for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.(C) 8 These were their names:
Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (he had Socoh and the whole land of Hepher);
11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (Taphath daughter of Solomon was his wife);
12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also had married a daughter of Solomon – Basemath);
16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan.
There was one district governor in the land of Judah.[a]
Solomon’s Provisions
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea;(D) they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing. 21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.(E) They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.(F)
22 Solomon’s provisions for one day were 6,600 litres[b] of fine flour and 13,200 litres[c] of meal, 23 ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,[d](G) 24 for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders. 25 Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba,(H) each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.(I) 26 Solomon had forty thousand[e] stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.(J) 27 Each of those district governors for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing. 28 Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horses(K) to the required place according to his assignment.[f]
Solomon’s Wisdom and Literary Gifts
29 God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding(L) as vast as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(M) greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(N) 31 He was wiser than anyone(O) – wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,(P) and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol.(Q) His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.(R)
32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs,(S) and his songs numbered 1,005.(T) 33 He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.(U)
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 Kings 4:11 Or Naphoth-dor
- 1 Kings 4:13 Or the towns of Jair
- 1 Kings 4:16 Or in Aloth
- 1 Kings 4:20 Lit sea
- 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5:1 in Heb
- 1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates River
- 1 Kings 4:22 Lit bread
- 1 Kings 4:22 Approx. 195 bu. or 6.9 metric tons, a kor was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
- 1 Kings 4:22 Approx. 390 bu. or 13.8 metric tons
- 1 Kings 4:23 Lit oxen of the pasture
- 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
- 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates River
- 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
- 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates River
- 1 Kings 4:26 One ms 4,000, cf. 2 Chr 9:25
- 1 Kings 4:31 In 1 Chr 2:6, Dara
- 1 Kings 4:34 Lit they
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