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1 Kings 4
Revised Geneva Translation
1 Kings 4
Revised Geneva Translation
4 And King Solomon was king over all Israel.
2 And these were his princes: Azariah the son of Zadok the Priest,
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes. Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder.
4 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the army. And Zadok and Abiathar were Priests.
5 And Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over the officers. And Zabud the son of Nathan, Priest, was the king’s friend.
6 And Ahishar was over the household. And Adoniram, the son of Abda, was over the tribute.
7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household: each man had a month in the year to provide food.
8 And these are their names: the son of Hur on mount Ephraim,
9 the son of Deker in Makaz and Shaalbim and Beth Shemesh and Elon and Beth Hanan,
10 the son of Hesed in Arubboth (to whom belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher),
11 the son of Abinadab in all the region of Dor (who had Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, as a wife),
12 Baana, the son of Ahilud in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean (which is by Zaretan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam,
13 the son of Geber in Ramoth Gilead (and his were the towns of Jair), the son of Manasseh (who are in Gilead), and under him was the region of Argob (which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bars of bronze),
14 Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim,
15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali (and he took Basemath, the daughter of Solomon, as a wife),
16 Baanah, the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth,
17 Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, in Issachar,
18 Shimei, the son of Elah, in Benjamin,
19 Geber, the son of Uri, in the country of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan (and was officer alone in the land).
20 Judah and Israel were many—as the sand of the sea in number—eating, drinking and making merry.
21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms, from the river to the land of the Philistines to the border of Egypt. And they brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 And Solomon’s food for one day were thirty measures of fine flour, sixty measures of meal,
23 ten fat oxen, twenty oxen of the pastures, and a hundred sheep (besides deer, bucks, gazelles, and fat fowl).
24 For he ruled in all the region on the other side of the river, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings on the other side the river. And he had peace all around him on every side.
25 And Judah and Israel dwelt without fear, each man under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And these officers provided food for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, every man his month. They lacked nothing.
28 Also, they brought barley and straw for the horses and mules to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
29 And God gave Solomon very much wisdom and understanding and a large heart, as the sand that is on the seashore.
30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than any man: Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Chalcol, or Darda, the sons of Mahol. And he was famous throughout all nations all around.
32 And Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs and a thousand five songs.
33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fish.
34 And people came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the Earth who had heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings 4
New International Version
1 Kings 4
New International Version
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
4 So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2 And these were his chief officials:(A)
Azariah(B) son of Zadok—the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;(C)
Jehoshaphat(D) son of Ahilud—recorder;
4 Benaiah(E) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;
Zadok(F) 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—palace administrator;(G)
7 Solomon had twelve district governors(J) over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. 8 These are their names:
Ben-Hur—in the hill country(K) of Ephraim;
9 Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(L) Beth Shemesh(M) and Elon Bethhanan;
10 Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh(N) and all the land of Hepher(O) were his);
11 Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor(P) (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);
12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(Q) next to Zarethan(R) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(S) across to Jokmeam;(T)
13 Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair(U) son of Manasseh in Gilead(V) were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities(W) with bronze gate bars);
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;(X)
15 Ahimaaz(Y)—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana son of Hushai(Z)—in Asher and in Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;
18 Shimei(AA) son of Ela—in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(AB) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(AC) king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.
Solomon’s Daily Provisions
20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand(AD) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(AE) 21 And Solomon ruled(AF) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(AG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(AH) These countries brought tribute(AI) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.
22 Solomon’s daily provisions(AJ) were thirty cors[a] of the finest flour and sixty cors[b] of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.(AK) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(AL) to Gaza, and had peace(AM) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(AN) lived in safety,(AO) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(AP)
26 Solomon had four[c] thousand stalls for chariot horses,(AQ) and twelve thousand horses.[d]
27 The district governors,(AR) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.
Solomon’s Wisdom
29 God gave Solomon wisdom(AS) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(AT) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(AU) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(AV) 31 He was wiser(AW) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs(AX) and his songs(AY) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(AZ) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings(BA) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons
- 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
- 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty
- 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers
- 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.
1 Kings 4
English Standard Version
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
Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
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