1 Kings 3
3
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the Lord and the wall around the city. 2At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the Lord had not yet been built.
3Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. 4The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 5That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
6Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.
7“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
15Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.
Solomon Judges Wisely
16Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. 17“Please, my lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. 18Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.
19“But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. 20Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. 21And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”
22Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.”
“No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king.
23Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. 24All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.
25Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”
26Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child—please do not kill him!”
But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!”
27Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”
28When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.
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1 Kings 3
3
Solomon’s Marriage
(2 Chronicles 1:1)
1Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). After marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, Solomon brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, the Lord’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.
2The people were still sacrificing at other worship sites because a temple for the name of the Lord had not yet been built. 3Solomon loved the Lord and lived by his father David’s rules. However, he still sacrificed and burned incense at these other worship sites.
Solomon Requests Wisdom from God
(2 Chronicles 1:2–13)
4King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice because it was the most important place of worship. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar.
5In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. He said, “What can I give you?”
6Solomon responded, “You’ve shown great love to my father David, who was your servant. He lived in your presence with truth, righteousness, and commitment. And you continued to show him your great love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.
7“Lord my God, although I’m young and inexperienced, you’ve made me king in place of my father David. 8I’m among your people whom you have chosen. They are too numerous to count or record. 9Give me a heart that listens so that I can judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?”
10The Lord #3:10 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek; other Hebrew manuscripts “Lord.” was pleased that Solomon asked for this. 11God replied, “You’ve asked for this and not for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Instead, you’ve asked for understanding so that you can do what is right. 12So I’m going to do what you’ve asked. I’m giving you a wise and understanding heart so that there will never be anyone like you. 13I’m also giving you what you haven’t asked for—riches and honor—so that no other king will be like you as long as you live. 14And if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did, then I will also give you a long life.”
15Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the ark of the Lord’s promise. He sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings and held a banquet for all his officials.
Solomon’s Wisdom in Action
16A short time later two prostitutes came to the king and stood in front of him. 17One woman said to him, “Sir, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth ⌞to a son⌟ while she was with me in the house. 18Two days later this woman also gave birth ⌞to a son⌟. We were alone. No one else was with us. Just the two of us were in the house. 19That night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on top of him. 20So she got up during the night and took my son, who was beside me, while I was asleep. She held him in her arms. Then she laid her dead son in my arms. 21When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, he was dead! I took a good look at him and realized that he wasn’t my son at all!”
22The other woman said, “No! My son is alive—your son is dead.”
The first woman kept on saying, “No! Your son is dead—my son is alive.” So they argued in front of the king.
23The king said, “This one keeps saying, ‘My son is alive—your son is dead,’ and that one keeps saying, ‘No! Your son is dead—my son is alive.’ ”
24So the king told his servants to bring him a sword. When they brought it, 25he said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to the one and half to the other.”
26Then the woman whose son was still alive was deeply moved by her love for the child. She said to the king, “Please, sir, give her the living child. Please don’t kill him!”
But the other woman said, “He won’t be mine or yours. Cut him ⌞in two⌟.”
27The king replied, “Give the living child to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She is his mother.”
28All Israel heard about the decision the king made. They respected the king very highly, because they saw he possessed wisdom from God to do what was right.
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