New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt; he took Pharaoh's daughter 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 around Jerusalem.
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Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife, keeping her in the town of David, till the house he was building for himself, and the house of the Lord and the wall round Jerusalem, were complete.
2 The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
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But all this time the people were making their offerings in the high places, because no house had been put up to the name of the Lord till those days.
3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places.
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And Solomon, in his love for the Lord, kept the laws of David his father; but he made offerings and let them go up in smoke on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
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And the king went to Gibeon to make an offering there, because that was the chief high place: it was Solomon's way to make a thousand burned offerings on that altar.
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you."
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In Gibeon, Solomon had a vision of the Lord in a dream by night; and God said to him, Say what I am to give you.
6 And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.
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And Solomon said, Great was your mercy to David my father, as his life before you was true and upright and his heart was true to you; and you have kept for him this greatest mercy, a son to take his place this day.
7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
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And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father; and I am only a young boy, with no knowledge of how to go out or come in.
8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.
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And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given.
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?"
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Give your servant, then, a wise heart for judging your people, able to see what is good and what evil; for who is able to be the judge of this great people?
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
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Now these words and Solomon's request were pleasing to the Lord.
11 God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
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And God said to him, Because your request is for this thing, and not for long life for yourself or for wealth or for the destruction of your haters, but for wisdom to be a judge of causes;
12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.
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I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future.
13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you.
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And with this I have given you what you made no request for: wealth and honour, so that no king was ever your equal.
14 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life."
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And if you go on in my ways, keeping my laws and my orders as your father David did, I will give you a long life.
15 Then Solomon awoke; it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem where he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He offered up burnt offerings and offerings of well-being, and provided a feast for all his servants.
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And Solomon, awakening, saw that it was a dream; then he came to Jerusalem, where he went before the ark of the agreement of the Lord, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings; and he made a feast for all his servants.
16 Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
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Then two loose women of the town came and took their places before the king;
17 The one woman said, "Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.
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And one of them said, O my lord, I and this woman are living in the same house; and I gave birth to a child by her side in the house.
18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house.
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And three days after the birth of my child, this woman had a child: we were together, no other-person was with us in the house but we two only.
19 Then this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him.
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In the night, this woman, sleeping on her child, was the cause of its death.
20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.
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And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was sleeping; and she took it in her arms and put her dead child in my arms.
21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne."
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And when I got up to give my child the breast, I saw that it was dead; but in the morning, looking at it with care, I saw that it was not my son.
22 But the other woman said, "No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours." The first said, "No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine." So they argued before the king.
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And the other woman said, No; but the living child is my son and the dead one yours. But the first said, No; the dead child is your son and the living one mine. So they kept on talking before the king.
23 Then the king said, "The one says, "This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead'; while the other says, "Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.' "
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Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living.
24 So the king said, "Bring me a sword," and they brought a sword before the king.
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Then he said, Get me a sword. So they went and put a sword before the king.
25 The king said, "Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other."
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And the king said, Let the living child be cut in two and one half given to one woman and one to the other.
26 But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—"Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!" The other said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it."
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Then the mother of the living child came forward, for her heart went out to her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the child; do not on any account put it to death. But the other woman said, It will not be mine or yours; let it be cut in two.
27 Then the king responded: "Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother."
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Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.
28 All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.
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And news of this decision which the king had made went through all Israel; and they had fear of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to give decisions.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.