1 Kings 3
3
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1Solomon made a peace treaty with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David. This was when Solomon was still building his palace, the Temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2The Temple to honor the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still making animal sacrifices on altars at the high places. 3Solomon showed that he loved the Lord by obeying everything his father David told him to do, except that Solomon continued to go to the high places to offer sacrifices and to burn incense.
4King Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice because that was the most important high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5While Solomon was at Gibeon, the Lord came to him at night in a dream. God said, “Solomon, ask me what you want me to give you.”
6Solomon answered, “You were very kind and loyal to your servant, my father David. He was faithful to you and lived a good, honest life. And you showed him the greatest kindness when you let his son take his place as king. 7Lord my God, you have made me the king in my father’s place, but I am like a small child. I don’t have the wisdom I need to do what I must do. 8I am your servant here among your chosen people. There are so many that they cannot be counted. 9So I ask you to give me the wisdom to rule and judge them well and to help me know the difference between right and wrong. Without such great wisdom, it would be impossible to rule this great nation.”
10The Lord was happy that Solomon asked for wisdom. 11So God said to him, “You did not ask for long life and riches for yourself. You did not ask for the death of your enemies. You asked for the wisdom to listen and make the right decisions. 12So I will give you what you asked for. I will make you wise and intelligent. I will make you wiser than anyone who ever lived or ever will live. 13And I will also give you what you did not ask for. You will have riches and honor all your life. There will be no other king in the world as great as you. 14And I will give you a long life if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did.”
15Solomon woke up and knew that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then Solomon went to Jerusalem and stood before the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. He offered a burnt offering and fellowship offerings to the Lord and then gave a party for all of his officials.
Proof of Solomon’s Wisdom
16One day two prostitutes came to Solomon and stood before the king. 17One of the women said, “Sir, this woman and I live in the same house. We were both pregnant and ready to give birth to our babies. I had my baby while she was there with me. 18Three days later she also gave birth to her baby. There was no one else in the house with us, just the two of us. 19One night while this woman was asleep with her baby, the baby died. 20That night while I was asleep, she took my son from my bed and carried him to her bed. Then she put the dead baby in my bed. 21In the morning I woke up and was about to feed the baby when I saw he was dead. When I looked at him more closely, I saw that he was not my baby.”
22But the other woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours, and the one still alive is mine!”
But the first woman said, “No, you are wrong! The dead baby is yours! The one that is still alive is mine.” So the two women argued in front of the king.
23Then King Solomon said, “Each of you says that the living baby is your own and that the dead baby belongs to the other woman.” 24Then King Solomon sent his servant to get a sword. 25He told the servant, “Cut the living baby in two and give one half of the baby to each woman.”
26The second woman said, “Yes, cut him in two. Then neither of us will have him.” But the first woman, the real mother, loved her son and said to the king, “Please, sir, don’t kill the baby! Give him to her.”
27Then King Solomon said, “Stop, don’t kill the baby. Give him to this woman. She is the real mother.”
28The people of Israel respected the king when they heard about this decision. They saw he had the wisdom of God#3:28 the wisdom of God Or “very great wisdom.” to make the right decisions.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Kings 3
3
Solomon Prays for Wisdom
(2 Chr 1.3–12)
1Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David's City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall round Jerusalem. 2A temple had not yet been built for the LORD, and so the people were still offering sacrifices at many different altars. 3Solomon loved the LORD and followed the instructions of his father David, but he also slaughtered animals and offered them as sacrifices on various altars.
4On one occasion he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices because that was where the most famous altar was. He had offered hundreds of burnt offerings there in the past. 5That night the LORD appeared to him in a dream and asked him, “What would you like me to give you?”
6Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, your servant, and he was good, loyal, and honest in his relations with you. And you have continued to show him your great and constant love by giving him a son who today rules in his place. 7O LORD God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don't know how to rule. 8Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. 9So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”
10The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for this, 11and so he said to him, “Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies, 12I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before or will ever have again. 13I will also give you what you have not asked for: all your life you will have wealth and honour, more than that of any other king. 14And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
15Solomon woke up and realized that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the LORD's Covenant Box and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. After that he gave a feast for all his officials.
Solomon Judges a Difficult Case
16One day two prostitutes came and presented themselves before King Solomon. 17One of them said, “Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there. 18Two days after my child was born she also gave birth to a baby boy. Only the two of us were there in the house — no one else was present. 19Then one night she accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it. 20She got up during the night, took my son from my side while I was asleep, and carried him to her bed; then she put the dead child in my bed. 21The next morning, when I woke up and was going to feed my baby, I saw that it was dead. I looked at it more closely and saw that it was not my child.”
22But the other woman said, “No! The living child is mine, and the dead one is yours!”
The first woman answered, “No! The dead child is yours, and the living one is mine!”
And so they argued before the king.
23Then King Solomon said, “Each of you claims that the living child is hers and that the dead child belongs to the other one.” 24He sent for a sword, and when it was brought, 25he said, “Cut the living child in two and give each woman half of it.”
26The real mother, her heart full of love for her son, said to the king, “Please, Your Majesty, don't kill the child! Give it to her!”
But the other woman said, “Don't give it to either of us; go ahead and cut it in two.”
27Then Solomon said, “Don't kill the child! Give it to the first woman — she is its real mother.”
28When the people of Israel heard of Solomon's decision, they were all filled with deep respect for him, because they knew then that God had given him the wisdom to settle disputes fairly.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.