1 Kings 4
New King James Version
Solomon’s Administration
4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [a]scribes; (A)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 (B)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and (C)Abiathar, the priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over (D)the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, (E)a priest and (F)the king’s friend; 6 Ahishar, over the household; and (G)Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.
7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 8 These are their names: [b]Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9 [c]Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10 [d]Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 [e]Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13 [f]Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged (H)the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged (I)the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 (J)Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of (K)Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 (L)Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in (M)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.
Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous (N)as the sand by the sea in multitude, (O)eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So (P)Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from (Q)the[g] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. (R)They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 (S)Now Solomon’s [h]provision for one day was thirty [i]kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of [j]the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over (T)all the kings on this side of the River; and (U)he had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel (V)dwelt[k] safely, (W)each man under his vine and his fig tree, (X)from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 (Y)Solomon had [l]forty thousand stalls of (Z)horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And (AA)these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
29 And (AB)God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men (AC)of the East and all (AD)the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was (AE)wiser than all men—(AF)than Ethan the Ezrahite, (AG)and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 (AH)He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his (AI)songs were one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, (AJ)came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:3 secretaries
- 1 Kings 4:8 Lit. Son of Hur
- 1 Kings 4:9 Lit. Son of Deker
- 1 Kings 4:10 Lit. Son of Hesed
- 1 Kings 4:11 Lit. Son of Abinadab
- 1 Kings 4:13 Lit. Son of Geber
- 1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:22 Lit. bread
- 1 Kings 4:22 Each about 5 bushels
- 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:25 lived in safety
- 1 Kings 4:26 So with MT, most other authorities; some LXX mss. four thousand; cf. 2 Chr. 9:25
מלכים א 4
The Westminster Leningrad Codex
4 וַֽיְהִי֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה מֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס
2 וְאֵ֥לֶּה הַשָּׂרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ עֲזַרְיָ֥הוּ בֶן־צָד֖וֹק הַכֹּהֵֽן׃ ס
3 אֱלִיחֹ֧רֶף וַאֲחִיָּ֛ה בְּנֵ֥י שִׁישָׁ֖א סֹפְרִ֑ים יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט בֶּן־אֲחִיל֖וּד הַמַּזְכִּֽיר׃
4 וּבְנָיָ֥הוּ בֶן־יְהוֹיָדָ֖ע עַל־הַצָּבָ֑א וְצָד֥וֹק וְאֶבְיָתָ֖ר כֹּהֲנִֽים׃ ס
5 וַעֲזַרְיָ֥הוּ בֶן־נָתָ֖ן עַל־הַנִּצָּבִ֑ים וְזָב֧וּד בֶּן־נָתָ֛ן כֹּהֵ֖ן רֵעֶ֥ה הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
6 וַאֲחִישָׁ֖ר עַל־הַבָּ֑יִת וַאֲדֹנִירָ֥ם בֶּן־עַבְדָּ֖א עַל־הַמַּֽס׃ ס
7 וְלִשְׁלֹמֹ֞ה שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂ֤ר נִצָּבִים֙ עַל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְכִלְכְּל֥וּ אֶת־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וְאֶת־בֵּית֑וֹ חֹ֧דֶשׁ בַּשָּׁנָ֛ה יִהְיֶ֥ה ׳עַל־אֶחָד׳ ״עַל־הָאֶחָ֖ד״ לְכַלְכֵּֽל׃ ס
8 וְאֵ֣לֶּה שְׁמוֹתָ֔ם בֶּן־ח֖וּר בְּהַ֥ר אֶפְרָֽיִם׃ ס
9 בֶּן־דֶּ֛קֶר בְּמָקַ֥ץ וּבְשַֽׁעַלְבִ֖ים וּבֵ֣ית שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וְאֵיל֖וֹנ בֵּ֥ית חָנָֽן׃ ס
10 בֶּן־חֶ֖סֶד בָּֽאֲרֻבּ֑וֹת ל֥וֹ שֹׂכֹ֖ה וְכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ חֵֽפֶר׃ ס
11 בֶּן־אֲבִֽינָדָ֖ב כָּל־נָ֣פַת דֹּ֑אר טָפַת֙ בַּת־שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה הָ֥יְתָה לּ֖וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ ס
12 בַּֽעֲנָא֙ בֶּן־אֲחִיל֔וּד תַּעְנַ֖ךְ וּמְגִדּ֑וֹ וְכָל־בֵּ֣ית שְׁאָ֡ן אֲשֶׁר֩ אֵ֨צֶל צָרְתַ֜נָה מִתַּ֣חַת לְיִזְרְעֶ֗אל מִבֵּ֤ית שְׁאָן֙ עַ֚ד אָבֵ֣ל מְחוֹלָ֔ה עַ֖ד מֵעֵ֥בֶר לְיָקְמֳעָֽם׃ ס
13 בֶּן־גֶּ֖בֶר בְּרָמֹ֣ת גִּלְעָ֑ד ל֡וֹ חַוֺּת֩ יָאִ֨יר בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁ֜ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּגִּלְעָ֗ד ל֚וֹ חֶ֤בֶל אַרְגֹּב֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּבָּשָׁ֔ן שִׁשִּׁים֙ עָרִ֣ים גְּדֹל֔וֹת חוֹמָ֖ה וּבְרִ֥יחַ נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ ס
14 אֲחִֽינָדָ֥ב בֶּן־עִדֹּ֖א מַחֲנָֽיְמָה׃
15 אֲחִימַ֖עַץ בְּנַפְתָּלִ֑י גַּם־ה֗וּא לָקַ֛ח אֶת־בָּשְׂמַ֥ת בַּת־שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה לְאִשָּֽׁה׃
16 בַּֽעֲנָא֙ בֶּן־חוּשָׁ֔י בְּאָשֵׁ֖ר וּבְעָלֽוֹת׃ ס
17 יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט בֶּן־פָּר֖וּחַ בְּיִשָׂשכָֽר׃ ס
18 שִׁמְעִ֥י בֶן־אֵלָ֖א בְּבִנְיָמִֽן׃ ס
19 גֶּ֥בֶר בֶּן־אֻרִ֖י בְּאֶ֣רֶץ גִּלְעָ֑ד אֶ֜רֶץ סִיח֣וֹן׀ מֶ֣לֶךְ הָאֱמֹרִ֗י וְעֹג֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ הַבָּשָׁ֔ן וּנְצִ֥יב אֶחָ֖ד אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
20 יְהוּדָ֤ה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ רַבִּ֔ים כַּח֥וֹל אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַיָּ֖ם לָרֹ֑ב אֹכְלִ֥ים וְשֹׁתִ֖ים וּשְׂמֵחִֽים׃
1 Kings 4
Young's Literal Translation
4 And king Solomon is king over all Israel,
2 and these [are] the heads whom he hath: Azariah son of Zadok [is] the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahiah sons of Shisha [are] scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] remembrancer;
4 and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is] over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar [are] priests;
5 and Azariah son of Nathan [is] over the officers; and Zabud son of Nathan [is] minister, friend of the king;
6 And Ahishar [is] over the household, and Adoniram son of Abda [is] over the tribute.
7 And Solomon hath twelve officers over all Israel, and they have sustained the king and his household -- a month in the year is on each one for sustenance;
8 and these [are] their names: Ben-Hur in the hill-country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-Dekar in Makaz, and Shaalbim, and Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.
10 Ben-Hesed [is] in Aruboth, hath Sochoh and all the land of Hepher;
11 Ben-Abinadab [hath] all the elevation of Dor, Taphath daughter of Solomon became his wife.
12 Baana Ben-Ahilud [hath] Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-Shean, which [is] by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-Shean unto Abel-Meholah, unto beyond Jokneam.
13 Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead, hath the small towns of Jair son of Manasseh, which [are] in Gilead; he hath a portion of Argob that [is] in Bashan, sixty great cities [with] wall and brazen bar.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo [hath] Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz [is] in Naphtali; he also hath taken Basemath daughter of Solomon for a wife.
16 Baanah Ben-Hushai [is] in Asher, and in Aloth.
17 Jehoshaphat Ben-Paruah [is] in Issachar.
18 Shimei Ben-Elah [is] in Benjamin.
19 Geber Ben-Uri [is] in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorite, and of Og king of Bashan: and one officer who [is] in the land.
20 Judah and Israel [are] many, as the sand that [is] by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
21 And Solomon hath been ruling over all the kingdoms, from the River [to] the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt: they are bringing nigh a present, and serving Solomon, all days of his life.
22 And the provision of Solomon for one day is thirty cors of flour, and sixty cors of meal;
23 ten fat oxen, and twenty feeding oxen, and a hundred sheep, apart from hart, and roe, and fallow-deer, and fatted beasts of the stalls,
24 for he is ruling over all beyond the river, from Tiphsah and unto Gaza, over all the kings beyond the river, and he hath peace from all his servants round about.
25 And Judah dwelleth -- and Israel -- in confidence, each under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 And Solomon hath forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And these officers have sustained king Solomon and every one drawing near unto the table of king Solomon, each [in] his month; they let nothing be lacking.
28 And the barley and the straw, for horses and for dromedaries, they bring in unto the place where they are, each according to his ordinance.
29 And God giveth wisdom to Solomon, and understanding, very much, and breadth of heart, as the sand that [is] on the edge of the sea;
30 and the wisdom of Solomon is greater than the wisdom of any of the sons of the east, and than all the wisdom of Egypt;
31 and he is wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol, and his name is in all the nations round about.
32 And he speaketh three thousand similes, and his songs [are] five, and the chief one;
33 and he speaketh concerning the trees, from the cedar that [is] in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that is coming out in the wall, and he speaketh concerning the cattle, and concerning the fowl, and concerning the creeping things, and concerning the fishes,
34 and there come out of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who have heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings 4
New American Standard Bible
Solomon’s Officials
4 Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was (A)the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; (B)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; 4 and (C)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and (D)Abiathar were priests; 5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over (E)the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant; 6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.
7 Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year. 8 And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the (F)hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker in Makaz and (G)Shaalbim, and (H)Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth ((I)Socoh was his and all the land of (J)Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab in all [a]the (K)hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud in (L)Taanach and Megiddo, and all (M)Beth-shean which is beside (N)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to (O)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of (P)Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber in (Q)Ramoth-gilead ((R)the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: (S)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo in (T)Mahanaim; 15 (U)Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); 16 Baana the son of (V)Hushai in Asher and [b]Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar; 18 (W)Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, (X)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.
Solomon’s Power, Wealth, and Wisdom
20 (Y)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the [c]seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.
21 [d](Z)Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms (AA)from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; (AB)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon’s [e]provision for one day was [f]thirty kors of fine flour and [g]sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, twenty [h]pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese. 24 For he was ruling over everything [i]west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to (AC)Gaza, (AD)over all the kings [j]west of the River; and (AE)he had peace on all sides surrounding him. 25 (AF)So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, (AG)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 (AH)Solomon had [k]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking. 28 They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and (AI)baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.
29 Now (AJ)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of [l]mind, (AK)like the sand that is on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all (AL)the [m]people of the east and (AM)all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For (AN)he was wiser than all other people, more than (AO)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, (AP)Calcol, and [n]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his [o]fame was known in all the surrounding nations. 32 (AQ)He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. 33 He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish. 34 People (AR)came from all the [p]nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:11 Or Naphoth-dor
- 1 Kings 4:16 Or in Aloth
- 1 Kings 4:20 Lit sea
- 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5:1 in Heb
- 1 Kings 4:22 Lit bread
- 1 Kings 4:22 About 231 cubic feet or 6.5 cubic meters
- 1 Kings 4:22 About 462 cubic feet or 13 cubic meters
- 1 Kings 4:23 Lit oxen of the pasture
- 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
- 1 Kings 4:24 Lit beyond
- 1 Kings 4:26 One LXX ms reads 4,000, cf. 2 Chr 9:25
- 1 Kings 4:29 Lit heart
- 1 Kings 4:30 Lit sons
- 1 Kings 4:31 In 1 Chr 2:6, Dara
- 1 Kings 4:31 Lit name
- 1 Kings 4:34 Lit peoples
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2005 by Public Domain
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
