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
I Kings 3
3
Solomon Requests Wisdom
1Now #1 Kin. 7:8; 9:24Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her #2 Sam. 5:7to the City of David until he had finished building his #1 Kin. 7:1own house, and #1 Kin. 6the house of the Lord, and #1 Kin. 9:15, 19the wall all around Jerusalem. 2#(Deut. 12:2–5, 13, 14); 1 Kin. 11:7; 22:43Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. 3And Solomon #(Rom. 8:28)loved the Lord, #(1 Kin. 3:6, 14)walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
4Now #1 Kin. 9:2; 2 Chr. 1:3the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, #1 Chr. 16:39; 21:29for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5#1 Kin. 9:2; 11:9; 2 Chr. 1:7At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon #Num. 12:6; Matt. 1:20; 2:13in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
6#2 Chr. 1:8And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he #1 Kin. 2:4; 9:4; 2 Kin. 20:3walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You #2 Sam. 7:8–17; 1 Kin. 1:48have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a #1 Chr. 22:5; Jer. 1:6, 7little child; I do not know how #Num. 27:17; 2 Sam. 5:2to go out or come in. 8And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You #(Ex. 19:6; Deut. 7:6)have chosen, a great people, too #Gen. 13:6; 15:5; 22:17numerous to be numbered or counted. 9#2 Chr. 1:10; (James 1:5)Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart #Ps. 72:1, 2to judge Your people, that I may #2 Sam. 14:17; Is. 7:15; (Heb. 5:14)discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
10The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have #(James 4:3)not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12#(1 John 5:14, 15)behold, I have done according to your words; #1 Kin. 4:29–31; 5:12; 10:24; Eccl. 1:16see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13And I have also #(Matt. 6:33; Eph. 3:20)given you what you have not asked: both #1 Kin. 4:21, 24; 10:23; 1 Chr. 29:12riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 14So #(1 Kin. 6:12)if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, #1 Kin. 15:5as your father David walked, then I will #Ps. 91:16; Prov. 3:2lengthen your days.”
15Then Solomon #Gen. 41:7awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and #Gen. 40:20; 1 Kin. 8:65; Esth. 1:3; Dan. 5:1; Mark 6:21made a feast for all his servants.
Solomon’s Wise Judgment
16Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and #Num. 27:2stood before him. 17And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 19And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
22Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.”
And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.”
Thus they spoke before the king.
23And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” 24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
26Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for #Gen. 43:30; Is. 49:15; Jer. 31:20; Hos. 11:8she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!”
But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
27So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”
28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the #1 Kin. 3:9, 11, 12; 2 Chr. 1:12; Dan. 1:17; (Col. 2:2, 3)wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.