Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
121 I have done what is fair and right.
Don’t leave me to my enemies.
122 Promise that you will help me, your servant.
Don’t let proud people hurt me.
123 My eyes are tired from looking for your salvation
and for your good promise.
124 Show your love to me, your servant.
Teach me your demands.
125 I am your servant. Give me wisdom
so I can understand your rules.
126 Lord, it is time for you to do something.
People have disobeyed your teachings.
127 I love your commands
more than the purest gold.
128 I respect all your orders.
So I hate lying ways.
Solomon Makes a Wise Decision
16 One day two women who were prostitutes came to Solomon. They stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was there with me. 18 Three days later this woman also gave birth to a baby. No one else was in the house with us. There were only the two of us. 19 One night this woman rolled over on her baby, and it died. 20 So during the night she took my son from my bed while I was asleep. She carried him to her bed. Then she put the dead baby in my bed. 21 The next morning I got up to feed my baby. But I saw that he was dead! Then I looked at him more closely. I saw that he was not my son.”
22 But the other woman said, “No! The living baby is my son. The dead baby is yours!”
But the first woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours, and the living one is mine!” So the two women argued before the king.
23 Then King Solomon said, “Each of you says the living baby is your own. And each of you says the dead baby belongs to the other woman.”
24 Then King Solomon sent his servants to get a sword. When they brought it to him, 25 he said, “Cut the living baby into two pieces. Give each woman half of the baby.”
26 The real mother of the living child was full of love for her son. She said to the king, “Please, my master, don’t kill him! Give the baby to her!”
But the other woman said, “Neither of us will have him. Cut him into two pieces!”
27 Then King Solomon said, “Give the baby to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She is the real mother.”
28 When the people of Israel heard about King Solomon’s decision, they respected him very much. They saw he had wisdom from God to make the right decisions.
True Wisdom
13 Is there anyone among you who is truly wise and understanding? Then he should show his wisdom by living right. He should do good things without being proud. A wise person does not brag. 14 But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. Then it is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. 18 When people work for peace in a peaceful way, they receive the good result of their right living.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.