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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1 Kings 3: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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1 Kings 3
3
1Solomon made a marriage alliance#3:1. “Marriage alliance”: the word here literally means “make oneself a daughter's husband.” with Pharaoh of Egypt. He married Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to live in the City of David until he finished building his palace, the Lord's Temple, and the walls surrounding Jerusalem. 2In those days, however, the people still sacrificed on the high places because a Temple to honor the Lord hadn't yet been built.
3Solomon showed he loved the Lord by following the instructions of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned offerings on the high places. 4The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the leading high place. Solomon presented one thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
5The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon. God said to him, “Ask what you want me to give you.”
6Solomon replied, “You showed your servant David, my father, great trustworthy love because he lived his life before you with faithfulness, doing what was right and committed to principle. You have continued to show this great trustworthy love by giving him a son to sit on his throne to this day.
7Now, Lord God, you have made me king in place of my father David. But I am like an inexperienced young boy who doesn't know what to do.#3:7. “What to do”: literally, “going out or coming in.” 8I, your servant, am here among your chosen people, a great people that are so many they cannot be counted. 9So please give me a mind that's receptive so I can rule#3:9. Rule not so much in terms of imposing control but in governing wisely. your people well, understanding the difference between right and wrong, for who can rule this difficult people of yours?”
10The Lord considered that what Solomon asked for was good. 11So God told him, “Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life, or wealth, or the death of your enemies, but instead you asked for understanding to know what is right, 12I am giving you what you asked for. I am giving you a mind that is wise, with an understanding of what is right, more than anyone else before you or after you. 13I am also giving you what you did not ask for, wealth and status—so much so that no king will compare to you for the whole of your life. 14And if you follow my ways by keeping my laws and my commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
15Then Solomon woke up and realized he'd had a dream. He went back to Jerusalem, and stood in front of the Ark of the Lord's Agreement and he presented burnt offerings and friendship offerings, and he held a feast for all his officials.
16Later two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him for judgment.#3:16. “For judgment”: implied by the fact they came before him. 17One of the women spoke up, saying, “If it please Your Majesty: I share a house with this woman. I had a baby while she was living in the house. 18Three days after the birth of my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were together; there was no one else in the house, just the two of us. 19During the night this woman's son died because she rolled over on him. 20She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while I was sleeping. She lay him close beside her to cuddle him, and she lay her dead son close beside me. 21When I got up in the morning to nurse my son I saw that he was dead. When I looked closely at him in the light I realized it wasn't my son.”
22The other woman argued, “No! My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead.” The first woman objected, “No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.” They went on quarrelling in front of the king.
23The king intervened, saying, “So this woman says, ‘My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead,’ while the other woman says, ‘No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.’”
24“Bring me a sword,” the king ordered. So they brought him a sword. 25“Cut the child that's alive in two, and give half to one woman and half to another,” he commanded.
26But the woman whose son was alive had so much love for him as a mother that she cried out to the king, “Please, Your Majesty, give her the boy! Don't kill him!” But the other woman said, “He won't be mine or yours—cut him in two!”
27The king gave his verdict. “Give the child that's alive to the first woman,” he ordered. “On no account kill him, for she is his real mother.”
28When everyone in Israel heard about the verdict the king had delivered, they had great respect for the king, because they recognized the wisdom God had given him to judge rightly.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com