1 Kings 4
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Solomon’s Administrative Officers
4 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah son of Nathan was over the officials; Zabud son of Nathan was priest and king’s friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labour.
7 Solomon had twelve officials over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year. 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 (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as his wife); 12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and 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 had taken Basemath, Solomon’s daughter, as his wife); 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. And there was one official in the land of Judah.
Magnificence of Solomon’s Rule
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy. 21 [a] Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of choice flour, and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates; and he had peace on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all of them under their vines and fig trees. 26 Solomon also had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 Those officials supplied provisions for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month; they let nothing be lacking. 28 They also brought to the required place barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds, each according to his charge.
Fame of Solomon’s Wisdom
29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment, and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He would speak of trees, from the cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish. 34 People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5.1 in Heb
1 Kings 4
English Standard Version
Solomon's Officials
4 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was (A)the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; (B)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 (C)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; (D)Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over (E)the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and (F)king's friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and (G)Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of (H)the forced labor.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in (I)the hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all (J)Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in (K)Taanach, Megiddo, and all (L)Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, (M)in Ramoth-gilead (he had (N)the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had (O)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 (P)Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, (Q)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.
Solomon's Wealth and Wisdom
20 Judah and Israel were as many (R)as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. 21 [a] (S)Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the (T)Euphrates[b] to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. (U)They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors[c] of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates[d] from Tiphsah to (V)Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. (W)And he had peace on all sides around him. 25 And Judah and Israel (X)lived in safety, (Y)from Dan even to Beersheba, (Z)every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 26 (AA)Solomon also had 40,000[e] stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon's table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and (AB)swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.
29 (AC)And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind (AD)like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all (AE)the people of the east (AF)and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was (AG)wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 (AH)He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, (AI)and his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from (AJ)all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew
- 1 Kings 4:21 Hebrew the River
- 1 Kings 4:22 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
- 1 Kings 4:24 Hebrew the River; twice in this verse
- 1 Kings 4:26 Hebrew; one Hebrew manuscript (see 2 Chronicles 9:25 and Septuagint of 1 Kings 10:26) 4,000
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
