1 Kings 3; 1 Kings 4; 1 Kings 5; Luke 20:1-26

1 Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). After marrying Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, the LORD's house, and the wall around Jerusalem.

2 The people were still sacrificing at other worship sites because a temple for the name of the LORD had not yet been built.

3 Solomon loved the LORD and lived by his father David's rules. However, he still sacrificed and burned incense at these other worship sites.

4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice because it was the most important place of worship. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar.

5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. He said, "What can I give you?"

6 Solomon responded, "You've shown great love to my father David, who was your servant. He lived in your presence with truth, righteousness, and commitment. And you continued to show him your great love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.

7 "LORD my God, although I'm young and inexperienced, you've made me king in place of my father David.

8 I'm among your people whom you have chosen. They are too numerous to count or record.

9 Give me a heart that listens so that I can judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?"

10 The LORD was pleased that Solomon asked for this.

11 God replied, "You've asked for this and not for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Instead, you've asked for understanding so that you can do what is right.

12 So I'm going to do what you've asked. I'm giving you a wise and understanding heart so that there will never be anyone like you.

13 I'm also giving you what you haven't asked for--riches and honor--so that no other king will be like you as long as you live.

14 And if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did, then I will also give you a long life."

15 Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the ark of the LORD's promise. He sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings and held a banquet for all his officials.

16 A short time later two prostitutes came to the king and stood in front of him.

17 One woman said to him, "Sir, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth [to a son] while she was with me in the house.

18 Two days later this woman also gave birth [to a son]. We were alone. No one else was with us. Just the two of us were in the house.

19 That night this woman's son died because she rolled over on top of him.

20 So she got up during the night and took my son, who was beside me, while I was asleep. She held him in her arms. Then she laid her dead son in my arms.

21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, he was dead! I took a good look at him and realized that he wasn't my son at all!"

22 The other woman said, "No! My son is alive--your son is dead." The first woman kept on saying, "No! Your son is dead--my son is alive." So they argued in front of the king.

23 The king said, "This one keeps saying, 'My son is alive--your son is dead,' and that one keeps saying, 'No! Your son is dead--my son is alive.'"

24 So the king told his servants to bring him a sword. When they brought it,

25 he said, "Cut the living child in two. Give half to the one and half to the other."

26 Then the woman whose son was still alive was deeply moved by her love for the child. She said to the king, "Please, sir, give her the living child. Please don't kill him!" But the other woman said, "He won't be mine or yours. Cut him [in two]."

27 The king replied, "Give the living child to the first woman. Don't kill him. She is his mother."

28 All Israel heard about the decision the king made. They respected the king very highly, because they saw he possessed wisdom from God to do what was right.

1 When King Solomon was the king of all Israel,

2 these were his officials: Azariah, son of Zadok, was the [chief] priest.

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were scribes. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was the royal historian.

4 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was commander of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

5 Azariah, son of Nathan, was in charge of the district governors. Zabud, son of Nathan, was the king's adviser.

6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace. Adoniram, son of Abda, was in charge of forced labor.

7 Solomon appointed 12 district governors in Israel. They were to provide food for the king and his palace. Each one had to supply food for one month every year.

8 Their names were Benhur, who was in charge of the hills of Ephraim,

9 Bendeker, who was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan, and

10 Benhesed, who was in charge of Arubboth, Socoh, and the entire region of Hepher.

11 Benabinadab had the entire region of Dor. (Solomon's daughter Taphath was his wife.)

12 Baana, son of Ahilud, had Taanach, Megiddo, and all of Beth Shean. (This was near Zarethan, below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah and over to Jokmeam.)

13 Bengeber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he had the settlements of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, in Gilead. He [also] had the territory of Argob in Bashan, 60 large cities with walls and bronze bars across their gates.

14 Ahinadab, son of Iddo, was in charge of Mahanaim.

15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He also married Solomon's daughter Basemath.)

16 Baana, son of Hushai, was in charge of Asher and Aloth.

17 Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, was in charge of Issachar.

18 Shimei, son of Ela, was in charge of Benjamin.

19 Geber, son of Uri, was in charge of Gilead, the territory of King Sihon the Amorite and King Og of Bashan. (There was only one governor in that territory.)

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate and drank and lived happily.

21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the country of the Philistines and as far as the Egyptian border. These kingdoms paid taxes and were subject to Solomon as long as he lived.

22 Solomon's food supply for one day was 180 bushels of flour, 360 bushels of coarse flour,

23 10 fattened cows, 20 cows from the pasture, and 100 sheep in addition to deer, gazelles, fallow deer, and fattened birds.

24 He controlled all the territory west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza and all of its kings. So he lived in peace with all the neighboring countries.

25 As long as Solomon lived, Judah and Israel (from Dan to Beersheba) lived securely, everyone under his own vine and fig tree.

26 Solomon had stalls for 40,000 chariot horses. He also had 12,000 chariot soldiers.

27 Each of the governors provided food for one month every year for King Solomon and all who ate at his table. The governors saw to it that nothing was in short supply.

28 They brought their quota of barley and straw for the chariot horses to the proper places.

29 God gave Solomon wisdom--keen insight and a mind as limitless as the sand on the seashore.

30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all the eastern people and all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

31 He was wiser than anyone, than Ethan the Ezrahite, or Heman, Calcol, or Darda, Mahol's sons. His fame spread to all the nations around him.

32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.

33 He described and classified trees--from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He described and classified animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

34 People came from every nation to hear his wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard about his wisdom.

1 King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father. Hiram had always been David's friend.

2 Solomon sent word to Hiram, by saying,

3 "You know that my father David was surrounded by war. He couldn't build a temple for the name of the LORD our God until the LORD let him defeat his enemies.

4 But the LORD my God has surrounded me with peace. I have no rival and no trouble.

5 Now I'm thinking of building a temple for the name of the LORD my God as the LORD spoke to my father David: 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne to succeed you, will build a temple for my name.'

6 So order men to cut down cedars from Lebanon for me. My workers will work with your workers. I will pay you whatever wages you ask for your workers. You know we don't have any skilled lumberjacks like those from Sidon."

7 Hiram was very glad to hear what Solomon had said. Hiram responded, "May the LORD be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule this great nation."

8 Hiram sent men to Solomon to say, "I've received the message you sent me. I will do everything you want in regard to the cedar and cypress logs.

9 My workers will bring logs from Lebanon to the sea, and I will have them make them into rafts to go by sea to any place you specify. There I will have them taken apart, and you can use them. You can pay me by providing food for my palace."

10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress wood he wanted.

11 Solomon gave Hiram 120,000 bushels of wheat and 120,000 gallons of pure olive oil. Solomon paid Hiram this much every year.

12 The LORD gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty with one another.

13 King Solomon forced 30,000 men from all over Israel to work for him.

14 He sent a shift of 10,000 men to Lebanon for a month. They would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of forced labor.

15 Solomon had 70,000 men who carried heavy loads, 70,000 who quarried stone in the mountains,

16 and 3,300 foremen who were in charge of the workers.

17 The king commanded them to quarry large, expensive blocks of stone in order to provide a foundation of cut stone for the temple.

18 Solomon's workmen, Hiram's workmen, and men from Gebal quarried the stone and prepared the logs and stone to build the temple.

1 One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard and telling them the Good News. The chief priests, scribes, and leaders came up to him.

2 They asked him, "Tell us, what gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?"

3 Jesus answered them, "I, too, have a question for you. Tell me,

4 did John's right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?"

5 They talked about this among themselves. They said, "If we say, 'from heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'

6 But if we say, 'from humans,' everyone will stone us to death. They're convinced that John was a prophet."

7 So they answered that they didn't know who gave John the right to baptize.

8 Jesus told them, "Then I won't tell you why I have the right to do these things."

9 Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to the people: "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to vineyard workers, and went on a long trip.

10 "At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to obtain from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. But the workers beat the servant and sent him back with nothing.

11 So he sent a different servant. The workers beat him, treated him shamefully, and sent him back with nothing.

12 Then he sent a third servant. But they injured this one and threw him out [of the vineyard].

13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I'll send my son, whom I love. They'll probably respect him.'

14 "When the workers saw him, they talked it over among themselves. They said, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'

15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

16 He will destroy these workers and give the vineyard to others." Those who heard him said, "That's unthinkable!"

17 Then Jesus looked straight at them and asked, "What, then, does this Scripture verse mean: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. If that stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person."

19 The scribes and the chief priests wanted to arrest him right there, but they were afraid of the people. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them.

20 So they watched for an opportunity to send out some spies. The spies were to act like sincere religious people. They wanted to catch him saying the wrong thing so that they could hand him over to the governor.

21 They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're right in what you say and teach. Besides, you don't play favorites. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully.

22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to the emperor or not?"

23 He saw through their scheme, so he said to them,

24 "Show me a coin. Whose face and name is this?" They answered, "The emperor's."

25 He said to them, "Well, then give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God."

26 They couldn't make him say anything wrong in front of the people. His answer surprised them, so they said no more.