Jubilee Bible 2000 JUB
New International Version NIV
1 And Solomon became a relative of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for he took Pharaoh’s daughter <em>to wife</em> and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
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Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.
2 Until then the people sacrificed in high places because there was <em>still</em> no house built unto the name of the LORD until those days.
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The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD.
3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David, his father; only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
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Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that <em>was</em> the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
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The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what <em>you wish that</em> I shall give thee.
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At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as <em>it is</em> this day.
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Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know <em>how</em> to go out or come in.
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“Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.
8 And thy slave <em>is</em> in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
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Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.
9 Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people?
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So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.
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The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
11 And 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 hear judgment,
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So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice,
12 behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
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I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee in all thy days.
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Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as thy father David walked, then I will lengthen thy days.
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And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
15 And when Solomon awoke, he beheld <em>it was</em> 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 <em>offerings</em> and made a banquet for all his slaves.
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Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.
16 In that season two women, <em>that were</em> harlots, came unto the king and stood before him.
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Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17 And 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.
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One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me.
18 And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered that this woman was delivered also and we <em>were</em> together; <em>there was</em> no stranger with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.
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The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
19 And this woman’s child died in the night because she lay on top of him.
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“During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him.
20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom.
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So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.
21 And 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 had given birth to.
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The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
22 And the other woman said, No, but my son is alive, and thy son is dead. And this one said, No, but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. Thus they spoke before the king.
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The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.
23 Then said the king, The one saith, This <em>is</em> my son that is alive, and thy son <em>is</em> dead. And the other saith, No; but thy son <em>is</em> dead, and my son <em>is</em> alive.
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The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’ ”
24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
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Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other.
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He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman, of whom the living child <em>was</em>, spoke 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, <em>but</em> divide <em>it</em>.
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The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it, for she <em>is</em> its mother.
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Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
28 And all Israel heard of that judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to judge.
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When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.