1 Kings 4:29-34
New English Translation
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding[a] was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt.[b] 31 He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations.[c] 32 He composed[d] 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant,[e] from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing[f] animals, birds, insects, and fish. 34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom;[g] they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 4:29 tn Heb “heart,” i.e., mind. (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
- 1 Kings 4:30 tn Heb “the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.”
- 1 Kings 4:31 tn Heb “his name was in all the surrounding nations.”
- 1 Kings 4:32 tn Heb “spoke.”
- 1 Kings 4:33 tn Heb “he spoke about plants.”
- 1 Kings 4:33 tn Heb “he spoke about.”
- 1 Kings 4:34 tn Heb “the wisdom of Solomon.”
1 Kings 4:29-34
Amplified Bible
29 Now God gave Solomon [exceptional] wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand of the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser [a]than all [other] men, [wiser] than [b]Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame was known in all the surrounding nations. 32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar which is in Lebanon to the hyssop [vine] that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and fish. 34 People came from all the peoples (nations) to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 4:31 “Wiser than all [other] men,” until Christ came. Jesus said, “Someone more and greater than Solomon is here” (Matt 12:42).
- 1 Kings 4:31 Together with Zimri (1 Chr 2:6), these men were reputed to be the wisest in the world.
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