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God Makes Solomon Very Wise

29 God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn’t even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can’t measure that either. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east. It was greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 Solomon was wiser than anyone else. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all the nations around him. 32 He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He spoke about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He spoke about animals and birds. He also spoke about reptiles and fish. 34 The kings of all the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.

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Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon wisdom(A) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(B) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(C) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(D) 31 He was wiser(E) 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(F) and his songs(G) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(H) 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(I) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.