1 Kings 4
4
Solomon's Officials
1-6Here is a list of Solomon's highest officials while he was king of Israel:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were the secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept the government records;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander;
Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the regional officers;
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's advisor;
Ahishar was the prime minister;
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7Solomon chose twelve regional officers, who took turns bringing food for him and his household. Each officer provided food from his region for one month of the year. 8These were the twelve officers:
The son of Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
9The son of Deker was in charge of the towns of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.
10The son of Hesed was in charge of the towns of Arubboth and Socoh, and the region of Hepher.
11The son of Abinadab was in charge of Naphath-Dor and was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.
12Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo. He was also in charge of the whole region of Beth-Shan near the town of Zarethan, south of Jezreel from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah to the other side of Jokmeam.
13The son of Geber was in charge of the town of Ramoth in Gilead and the villages in Gilead belonging to the family of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh. He was also in charge of the region of Argob in Bashan, which had 60 walled towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of the territory of Mahanaim.
15Ahimaaz was in charge of the territory of Naphtali and was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath.
16Baana son of Hushai was in charge of the territory of Asher and the town of Bealoth.
17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of the territory of Issachar.
18Shimei son of Ela was in charge of the territory of Benjamin.
19Geber son of Uri was in charge of Gilead, where King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan had lived.
And one officer was in charge of the territory of Judah.#4.19 of Judah: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
The Size of Solomon's Kingdom
20There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.
21 #
Gn 15.18; 2 Ch 9.26. Solomon ruled every kingdom between the Euphrates River and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.
22Every day, Solomon needed 5,000 liters of fine flour, 10,000 liters of coarsely-ground flour, 2310 grain-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.
24Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all of the countries around him. 25Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grape vines and fig trees.
26 #
1 K 10.26; 2 Ch 1.14; 9.25. Solomon had 40,000 stalls of chariot horses and 12,000 chariot soldiers.
27Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed, 28as well as barley and straw for the horses.
Solomon's Wisdom
29Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. 30-31#Ps 89 Title. He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel. 32#Pr 1.1; 10.1; 25.1; Sgs 1.1. Solomon wrote 3,000 wise sayings and composed more than 1,000 songs. 33He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 4
4
1So king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2And these were the princes which he had; Azari´ah the son of Zadok the priest, 3Eliho´reph and Ahi´ah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehosh´aphat the son of Ahi´lud, the recorder. 4And Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada was over the host: and Zadok and Abi´athar were the priests: 5and Azari´ah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: 6and Ahi´shar was over the household: and Adoni´ram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
7And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount E´phra-im: 9the son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Sha-al´bim, and Beth–she´mesh, and E´lon–beth–ha´nan: 10the son of Hesed, in Aru´both; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11the son of Abin´adab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12Ba´ana the son of Ahi´lud; to him pertained Ta´anach and Megid´do, and all Beth–she´an, which is by Zarta´nah beneath Jezreel, from Beth–she´an to A´bel–meho´lah, even unto the place that is beyond Jok´ne-am: 13the son of Geber, in Ra´moth–gil´e-ad; to him pertained the towns of Ja´ir the son of Manas´seh, which are in Gil´e-ad; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars: 14Ahin´adab the son of Iddo had Mahana´im: 15Ahim´a-az was in Naph´tali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 16Ba´anah the son of Hu´shai was in Asher and in Aloth: 17Jehosh´aphat the son of Paru´ah, in Is´sachar: 18Shim´e-i the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 19Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gil´e-ad, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.
20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 21#Gen 15.18; 2 Chr 9.26. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, 23ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl. 24For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 25And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer–sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26#1 Kgs 10.26; 2 Chr 1.14; 9.25. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 28Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. 30And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31#Ps 89 Title. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ez´rahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32#Prov 1.1; 10.1; 25.1; Song 1.1. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.