1 Kings 3
3
The Lord Gives Solomon Wisdom
1 Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David#sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places,#sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated. because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord.#tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name. 3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following#tn Heb “Solomon loved the Lord by walking in.” the practices#tn Or “policies, rules.” of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places.#tn Heb “for it was the great high place.” Solomon would offer up#tn The verb form is an imperfect, which is probably used here in a customary sense to indicate continued or repeated action in past time. See GKC 314 §107.b. a thousand burnt sacrifices on the altar there. 5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared#tn Or “revealed himself.” to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell#tn Heb “ask.” me what I should give you.” 6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated#tn Heb “did.” great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served#tn Heb “walked before.” you faithfully, properly, and sincerely.#tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.” You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.#tn Heb “and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day.” 7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.#tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.” 8 Your servant stands#tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification. among your chosen people;#tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.” they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning mind#tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.) so he can make judicial decisions for#tn Heb “to judge.” your people and distinguish right from wrong.#tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.” Otherwise#tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement. no one is able#tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.” to make judicial decisions for#tn Heb “to judge.” this great nation of yours.”#tn Heb “your numerous people.” 10 The Lord#tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). was pleased that Solomon made this request.#tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.” 11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,#tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.” 12 I#tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. grant your request,#tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made. and give#tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”). you a wise and discerning mind#tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.) superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.#tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.” 13 Furthermore, I am giving#tn The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made. you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.#tn Heb “so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days.” The LXX lacks the words “all your days.” 14 If you follow my instructions#tn Heb “walk in my ways.” by obeying#tn Or “keeping.” my rules and regulations, just as your father David did,#tn Heb “walked.” then I will grant you long life.”#tn Heb “I will lengthen your days.” 15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream.#tn Heb “and look, a dream.” He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings,#tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.” and held a feast for all his servants.
Solomon Demonstrates His Wisdom
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us.#sn There was no one else in the house except the two of us. In other words, there were no other witnesses to the births who could identify which child belonged to which mother. 19 This woman’s child suffocated#tn Heb “died.” during the night when she rolled#tn Heb “lay, slept.” on top of him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was,#tn Heb “look.” dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.”#tn Heb “look, it was not my son to whom I had given birth.” 22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king.#tn Heb “they spoke before the king.” Another option is to translate, “they argued before the king.”
23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword!” So they placed a sword before the king. 25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 26 The real mother#tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.” spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused.#tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.” She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!”#tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb. But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!” 27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected#tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.” the king, for they realized#tn Heb “saw.” that he possessed supernatural wisdom#tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.” to make judicial decisions.
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1 Kings 3
3
Solomon Asks God for Wisdom
1Solomon and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, agreed to help each other. So Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David. She stayed there until he finished building his palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2But the people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places where they worshiped. That’s because a temple hadn’t been built yet where the Lord would put his Name. 3Solomon showed his love for the Lord. He did it by obeying the laws his father David had taught him. But Solomon offered sacrifices at the high places. He also burned incense there.
4King Solomon went to the city of Gibeon to offer sacrifices. That’s where the most important high place was. There he offered 1,000 burnt offerings on the altar. 5The Lord appeared to Solomon at Gibeon. He spoke to him in a dream during the night. God said, “Ask for anything you want me to give you.”
6Solomon answered, “You have been very kind to my father David, your servant. That’s because he was faithful to you. He did what was right. His heart was honest. And you have continued to be very kind to him. You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
7“Lord my God, you have now made me king. You have put me in the place of my father David. But I’m only a little child. I don’t know how to carry out my duties. 8I’m here among the people you have chosen. They are a great nation. They are more than anyone can count. 9So give me a heart that understands. Then I can rule over your people. I can tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Who can possibly rule over this great nation of yours?”
10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for that. 11So God said to him, “You have not asked to live for a long time. You have not asked to be wealthy. You have not even asked to have your enemies killed. Instead, you have asked for wisdom. You want to do what is right and fair when you judge people. Because that is what you have asked for, 12I will give it to you. I will give you a wise and understanding heart. So here is what will be true of you. There has never been anyone like you. And there never will be. 13And that is not all. I will give you what you have not asked for. I will give you wealth and honor. As long as you live, no other king will be as great as you are. 14Live the way I want you to. Obey my laws and commands, just as your father David did. Then I will let you live for a long time.” 15Solomon woke up. He realized he had been dreaming.
He returned to Jerusalem. He stood in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his officials.
A Wise Ruling
16Two prostitutes came to the king. They stood in front of him. 17One of them said, “Pardon me, my master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 18Three days after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone. There wasn’t anyone in the house but the two of us.
19“During the night this woman’s baby died. It happened because she was lying on top of him. 20So she got up in the middle of the night. She took my son from my side while I was asleep. She put him by her breast. Then she put her dead son by my breast. 21The next morning, I got up to nurse my son. But he was dead! I looked at him closely in the morning light. And I saw that it wasn’t my baby.”
22The other woman said, “No! The living baby is my son. The dead one belongs to you.”
But the first woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours. The living one belongs to me.” So they argued in front of the king.
23The king said, “One of you says, ‘My son is alive. Your son is dead.’ The other one says, ‘No! Your son is dead. Mine is alive.’ ”
24He continued, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to him. 25Then he gave an order. He said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to one woman and half to the other.”
26The woman whose son was alive was filled with deep love for her son. She said to the king, “My master, please give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Cut him in two!”
27Then the king made his decision. He said, “Give the living baby to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She’s his mother.”
28All the Israelites heard about the decision the king had given. That gave them great respect for him. They saw that God had given him wisdom. They knew that Solomon would do what was right and fair when he judged people.
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