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
1And king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2And these are the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok was priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, chronicler; 4and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the superintendents; and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, the king's friend; 6and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy-service. 7And Solomon had twelve superintendents over all Israel; and they provided food for the king and his household: each man his month in the year had to make provision. 8And these are their names: Ben-Hur, in mount Ephraim. 9Ben-Deker in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-Beth-hanan. 10Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; he had Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher. 11Ben-Abinadab had all the upland of Dor; Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife. 12Baana the son of Ahilud had Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zaretan beneath Jizreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-Meholah, as far as beyond Jokneam. 13Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead; he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bars of bronze. 14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, at Mahanaim. 15Ahimaaz, in Nephtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon as wife. 16Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth. 17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar. 18Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin. 19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, and of Og the king of Bashan; and he was the only superintendent that 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. 21And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and as far as 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 sixty measures of meal, 23ten fatted oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl. 24For he had dominion over all on this side the river, from Tiphsah as far as Gazah, over all the kings on this side the river; and he had peace on all sides round about. 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. 26And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27And those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they let nothing be wanting. 28And the barley, and the straw for the horses and coursers, they brought to the place where the superintendents were, every man according to his charge.
29And God#GodHebrew: Elohim gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. 30And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. 32And he spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. 33And he spoke of the trees, from the cedar-tree that is on Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of cattle, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.