1 Kings 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Solomon’s Officials
4 King Solomon ruled over 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 deputies;
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 labor.
7 Solomon had 12 deputies 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, 60 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 Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan.
There was one deputy 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 [b]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River 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 150 bushels[c] of fine flour and 300 bushels[d] of meal, 23 10 fattened oxen, 20 range oxen, and 100 sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,[e](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 man under his own vine and his own fig tree.(I) 26 Solomon had 40,000[f] stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.(J) 27 Each of those deputies 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.[g]
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 composed 3,000 proverbs,(S) and his songs numbered 1,005.(T) 33 He described trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 People came from everywhere, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.(U)
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:19 LXX; MT omits of Judah
- 1 Kings 4:21 1Kg 5:1 in Hb
- 1 Kings 4:22 Lit 30 cors
- 1 Kings 4:22 Lit 60 cors
- 1 Kings 4:23 Hb obscure
- 1 Kings 4:26 2Ch 9:25 reads 4,000 stalls
- 1 Kings 4:28 Lit judgment
1 Kings 4
New Living Translation
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
4 King Solomon now ruled over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.
6 Ahishar was manager of the palace property.
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.
7 Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. 8 These are the names of the twelve governors:
Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
11 Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.[a] (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)
12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan[b] near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh[c]) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)
16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.
19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead,[d] including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
There was also one governor over the land of Judah.[e]
Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom
20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. 21 [f]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[g] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.
22 The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal[h]; 23 also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.[i]
24 Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. 25 During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.[j]
26 Solomon had 4,000[k] stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.[l]
27 The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. 28 They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.
29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
Footnotes
- 4:11 Hebrew Naphath-dor, a variant spelling of Naphoth-dor.
- 4:12 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan; also in 4:12b.
- 4:13 Hebrew Jair son of Manasseh; compare 1 Chr 2:22.
- 4:19a Greek version reads of Gad; compare 4:13.
- 4:19b As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks of Judah. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 4:21a Verses 4:21-34 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.
- 4:21b Hebrew the river; also in 4:24.
- 4:22 Hebrew 30 cors [6.6 kiloliters] of choice flour and 60 cors [13.2 kiloliters] of meal.
- 4:23 Or and fattened geese.
- 4:25 Hebrew each family lived under its own grapevine and under its own fig tree.
- 4:26a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 9:25); Hebrew reads 40,000.
- 4:26b Or 12,000 charioteers.
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