1 Kings 3
3
Solomon Marries Pharaoh's Daughter
1And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. 2Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.
Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom
(2 Chronicles 1.1-13)
3And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 5In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
15And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
Solomon's Wisdom and Prosperity
16Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. 17And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. 19And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. 20And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. 22And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
23Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. 27Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.
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1 Kings 3: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Kings 3
3
The Lord Gives Solomon Wisdom
1 Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David#sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places,#sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated. because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord.#tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name. 3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following#tn Heb “Solomon loved the Lord by walking in.” the practices#tn Or “policies, rules.” of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places.#tn Heb “for it was the great high place.” Solomon would offer up#tn The verb form is an imperfect, which is probably used here in a customary sense to indicate continued or repeated action in past time. See GKC 314 §107.b. a thousand burnt sacrifices on the altar there. 5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared#tn Or “revealed himself.” to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell#tn Heb “ask.” me what I should give you.” 6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated#tn Heb “did.” great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served#tn Heb “walked before.” you faithfully, properly, and sincerely.#tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.” You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.#tn Heb “and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day.” 7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.#tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.” 8 Your servant stands#tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification. among your chosen people;#tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.” they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning mind#tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.) so he can make judicial decisions for#tn Heb “to judge.” your people and distinguish right from wrong.#tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.” Otherwise#tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement. no one is able#tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.” to make judicial decisions for#tn Heb “to judge.” this great nation of yours.”#tn Heb “your numerous people.” 10 The Lord#tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). was pleased that Solomon made this request.#tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.” 11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,#tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.” 12 I#tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. grant your request,#tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made. and give#tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”). you a wise and discerning mind#tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.) superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.#tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.” 13 Furthermore, I am giving#tn The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made. you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.#tn Heb “so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days.” The LXX lacks the words “all your days.” 14 If you follow my instructions#tn Heb “walk in my ways.” by obeying#tn Or “keeping.” my rules and regulations, just as your father David did,#tn Heb “walked.” then I will grant you long life.”#tn Heb “I will lengthen your days.” 15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream.#tn Heb “and look, a dream.” He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings,#tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.” and held a feast for all his servants.
Solomon Demonstrates His Wisdom
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us.#sn There was no one else in the house except the two of us. In other words, there were no other witnesses to the births who could identify which child belonged to which mother. 19 This woman’s child suffocated#tn Heb “died.” during the night when she rolled#tn Heb “lay, slept.” on top of him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was,#tn Heb “look.” dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.”#tn Heb “look, it was not my son to whom I had given birth.” 22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king.#tn Heb “they spoke before the king.” Another option is to translate, “they argued before the king.”
23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword!” So they placed a sword before the king. 25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 26 The real mother#tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.” spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused.#tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.” She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!”#tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb. But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!” 27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected#tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.” the king, for they realized#tn Heb “saw.” that he possessed supernatural wisdom#tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.” to make judicial decisions.
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