David Dies

^10-11 (A) David was king of Israel 40 years. He ruled 7 years from Hebron and 33 years from Jerusalem. Then he died and was buried in Jerusalem.^{[a] 12 (B)} His son Solomon became king and took control of David's kingdom.

³ Solomon loved the Lord and followed his father David's instructions, but Solomon also offered sacrifices and burned incense at the shrines.

^4 (A) The most important shrine was in Gibeon, and Solomon had offered more than 1,000 sacrifices on that altar.

⁵ One night while Solomon was in Gibeon, the Lord God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”

⁶ Solomon answered:

My father David, your servant, was honest and did what you commanded. You were always loyal to him, and you gave him a son who is now king. ⁷ Lord God, I'm your servant, and you've made me king in my father's place. But I'm very young and know so little about being a leader. ⁸ And now I must rule your chosen people, even though there are too many of them to count.

⁹ Please make me wise and teach me the difference between right and wrong. Then I will know how to rule your people. If you don't, there is no way I could rule this great nation of yours.

^10-11 God said:

Solomon, I'm pleased that you asked for this. You could have asked to live a long time or to be rich. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom to make right decisions. ¹² So I'll make you wiser than anyone who has ever lived or ever will live.

¹³ I'll also give you what you didn't ask for. You'll be rich and respected as long as you live, and you'll be greater than any other king. ¹⁴ If you obey me and follow my commands, as your father David did, I'll let you live a long time.