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Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. 21 [a]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[b] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.

22 The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal[c]; 23 also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.[d]

24 Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. 25 During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.[e]

26 Solomon had 4,000[f] stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.[g]

27 The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. 28 They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:21a Verses 4:21-34 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.
  2. 4:21b Hebrew the river; also in 4:24.
  3. 4:22 Hebrew 30 cors [6.6 kiloliters] of choice flour and 60 cors [13.2 kiloliters] of meal.
  4. 4:23 Or and fattened geese.
  5. 4:25 Hebrew each family lived under its own grapevine and under its own fig tree.
  6. 4:26a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 9:25); Hebrew reads 40,000.
  7. 4:26b Or 12,000 charioteers.

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