The Lord Appears to Solomon^(A)

9 When Solomon had finished^(B) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, ² the Lord appeared^(C) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ The Lord said to him:

²⁴ For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah^(A) to Gaza, and had peace^(B) on all sides. ²⁵ During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,^(C) lived in safety,^(D) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.^(E)

²⁶ Solomon had four^[a] thousand stalls for chariot horses,^(F) and twelve thousand horses.^[b]

²⁷ The district governors,^(G) 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^(H) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand^(I) on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,^(J) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.^{(K) 31} He was wiser^(L) 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^(M) and his songs^(N) numbered a thousand and five. ³³ He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop^(O) 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^(P) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.^[c]