Chronological
The Lord Makes Solomon Wise
(2 Chronicles 1.1-13)
3 Solomon signed a treaty with the king of Egypt and married his daughter. She lived in the older part of Jerusalem[a] until the palace, the Lord's temple, and the wall around Jerusalem were completed.
2 At that time, there was no temple for worshiping the Lord, and everyone offered sacrifices at the local shrines.[b] 3 Solomon loved the Lord and followed his father David's instructions, but Solomon also offered sacrifices and burned incense at the shrines.
4 (A) The most important shrine was in Gibeon, and Solomon had offered more than 1,000 sacrifices on that altar.
5 One night while Solomon was in Gibeon, the Lord God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”
6 Solomon answered:
My father David, your servant, was honest and did what you commanded. You were always loyal to him, and you gave him a son who is now king. 7 Lord God, I'm your servant, and you've made me king in my father's place. But I'm very young and know so little about being a leader. 8 And now I must rule your chosen people, even though there are too many of them to count.
9 Please make me wise and teach me the difference between right and wrong. Then I will know how to rule your people. If you don't, there is no way I could rule this great nation of yours.
10-11 God said:
Solomon, I'm pleased that you asked for this. You could have asked to live a long time or to be rich. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom to make right decisions. 12 So I'll make you wiser than anyone who has ever lived or ever will live.
13 I'll also give you what you didn't ask for. You'll be rich and respected as long as you live, and you'll be greater than any other king. 14 If you obey me and follow my commands, as your father David did, I'll let you live a long time.
15 Solomon woke up and realized that God had spoken to him in the dream. He went back to Jerusalem and stood in front of the sacred chest, where he offered sacrifices to please the Lord[c] and sacrifices to ask his blessing.[d] Then Solomon gave a feast for his officials.
Solomon Makes a Difficult Decision
16 One day two women[e] came to King Solomon, 17 and one of them said:
Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. Not long ago my baby was born at home, 18 and three days later her baby was born. Nobody else was there with us.
19 One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died. 20 Then while I was still asleep, she got up and took my son out of my bed. She put him in her bed, then she put her dead baby next to me.
21 In the morning when I got up to feed my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him in the light, I knew he wasn't my son.
22 “No!” the other woman shouted. “He was your son. My baby is alive!”
“The dead baby is yours,” the first woman yelled. “Mine is alive!”
They argued back and forth in front of Solomon, 23 until finally he said, “Both of you say this live baby is yours. 24 Someone bring me a sword.”
A sword was brought, and Solomon ordered, 25 “Cut the baby in half! That way each of you can have part of him.”
26 “Please don't kill my son,” the baby's mother screamed. “Your Majesty, I love him very much, but give him to her. Just don't kill him.”
The other woman shouted, “Go ahead and cut him in half. Then neither of us will have the baby.”
27 Solomon said, “Don't kill the baby.” Then he pointed to the first woman, “She is his real mother. Give the baby to her.”
28 Everyone in Israel was amazed when they heard how Solomon had made his decision. They realized that God had given him wisdom to judge fairly.
Solomon's Officials
4 1-6 Here is a list of Solomon's highest officials while he was king of Israel:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were the secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept the government records;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander;
Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the regional officers;
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's advisor;
Ahishar was the prime minister;
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7 Solomon chose twelve regional officers, who took turns bringing food for him and his household. Each officer provided food from his region for one month of the year. 8 These were the twelve officers:
The son of Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
9 The son of Deker was in charge of the towns of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.
10 The son of Hesed was in charge of the towns of Arubboth and Socoh, and the region of Hepher.
11 The son of Abinadab was in charge of Naphath-Dor and was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.
12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo. He was also in charge of the whole region of Beth-Shan near the town of Zarethan, south of Jezreel from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah to the other side of Jokmeam.
13 The son of Geber was in charge of the town of Ramoth in Gilead and the villages in Gilead belonging to the family of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh. He was also in charge of the region of Argob in Bashan, which had 60 walled towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of the territory of Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz was in charge of the territory of Naphtali and was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath.
16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of the territory of Asher and the town of Bealoth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of the territory of Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of the territory of Benjamin.
19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of Gilead, where King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan had lived.
And one officer was in charge of the territory of Judah.[f]
The Size of Solomon's Kingdom
20 There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.
21 (B) Solomon ruled every kingdom between the Euphrates River and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.
22 Every day, Solomon needed 5,000 liters of fine flour, 10,000 liters of coarsely-ground flour, 23 10 grain-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.
24 Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all of the countries around him. 25 Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grape vines and fig trees.
26 (C) Solomon had 40,000 stalls of chariot horses and 12,000 chariot soldiers.
27 Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed, 28 as well as barley and straw for the horses.
Solomon's Wisdom
29 Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. 30-31 (D) He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel. 32 (E) Solomon wrote 3,000 wise sayings and composed more than 1,000 songs. 33 He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.
The Lord Makes Solomon Wise
(1 Kings 3.1-15)
1 King Solomon, the son of David, was now in complete control of his kingdom, because the Lord God had blessed him and made him a powerful king.
2-5 (A) At that time, the sacred tent that Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the desert was still kept at Gibeon, and in front of the tent was the bronze altar that Bezalel[a] had made.
One day, Solomon told the people of Israel, the army commanders, the officials, and the family leaders, to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon, even though his father King David had already moved the sacred chest from Kiriath-Jearim to the tent that he had set up for it in Jerusalem. Solomon and the others went to Gibeon to worship the Lord, 6 and there at the bronze altar, Solomon offered a thousand animals as sacrifices to please the Lord.[b]
7 God appeared to Solomon that night in a dream and said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”
8 Solomon answered:
Lord God, you were always loyal to my father David, and now you have made me king of Israel. 9 (B) I am supposed to rule these people, but there are as many of them as there are specks of dust on the ground. So keep the promise you made to my father 10 and make me wise. Give me the knowledge I'll need to be the king of this great nation of yours.
11 God replied:
Solomon, you could have asked me to make you rich or famous or to let you live a long time. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom and knowledge to rule my people. 12 So I will make you wise and intelligent. But I will also make you richer and more famous than any king before or after you.
13 Solomon then left Gibeon and returned to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.
Solomon's Wealth
(1 Kings 10.26-29)
14 (C) Solomon had a force of 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses that he kept in Jerusalem and other towns.
15 While Solomon was king of Israel, there was silver and gold everywhere in Jerusalem, and cedar was as common as ordinary sycamore trees in the foothills.
16-17 (D) Solomon's merchants bought his horses and chariots in the regions of Musri and Kue.[c] They paid 600 pieces of silver for a chariot and 150 pieces of silver for a horse. They also sold horses and chariots to the Hittite and Syrian kings.
(By Solomon.)
A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King
1 Please help the king
to be honest and fair
just like you, our God.
2 Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
especially the poor.
3 Let peace and justice rule
every mountain and hill.
4 Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless, and crush
everyone who hurts them.
5 Let the king live[a] forever
like the sun and the moon.
6 Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
and the ground.
7 Let the king be fair
with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
falls from the sky.
8 (A) Let his kingdom reach
from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
across all the earth.
9 Force the desert tribes
to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
crawl in the dirt.
10 Force the rulers of Tarshish[b]
and of the islands
to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
and of Seba[c] bring gifts.
11 Make other rulers bow down
and all nations serve him.
12 Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
who is poor and in need.
13 The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
and protects those in need.
14 He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
and violent deaths.
15 Long live the king!
Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
and praise him each day.
16 Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
prosper like wild flowers.
17 May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
and learn to praise him.
18 Lord God of Israel,
we praise you.
Only you can work miracles.
19 We will always praise
your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers
of David, the son of Jesse.
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