Solomon’s Provisions

20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea;(A) they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing. 21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.(B) They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.(C)

22 Solomon’s provisions for one day were 180 bushels[a] of fine flour and 360 bushels[b] of meal, 23 ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,[c](D) 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,(E) each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.(F) 26 Solomon had forty thousand[d] stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.(G) 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(H) to the required place according to his assignment.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. 4:22 Lit 30 cors
  2. 4:22 Lit 60 cors
  3. 4:23 Hb obscure
  4. 4:26 2Ch 9:25 reads 4,000 stalls
  5. 4:28 Lit judgment

20 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is on the seashore in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing!

Solomon’s Wisdom: Prosperity

21 [a] Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms from the River[b] to the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt, who were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life. 22 The food of Solomon for one day was thirty dry measures of choice meal and sixty dry measures of flour; 23 ten stall-fed oxen and twenty pasture-fed oxen and a hundred sheep, besides deer and buck gazelles and roebucks and well-fed fowls. 24 For he was ruling over all the west of the River[c] from Tiphsah up to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River;[d] and he had peace from every side all around. 25 Judah and Israel lived in security, each man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 Now Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his war chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 These governors sustained King Solomon and all who came near to the table of King Solomon, each in his month; they did not omit anything. 28 The barley and the straw for the horses and for packhorses they brought to the place where they were, each according to his share.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:21 1 Kings 4:21–5:18 in the English Bible is 5:1–32 in the Hebrew Bible
  2. 1 Kings 4:21 That is, the Euphrates
  3. 1 Kings 4:24 That is, the Euphrates
  4. 1 Kings 4:24 That is, the Euphrates