English Standard Version ESV
New International Version NIV
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
16
Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17 The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.
17
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 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house.
18
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 son died in the night, because she lay on him.
19
“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 your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.
20
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 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne."
21
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 But the other woman said, "No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours." The first said, "No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine." Thus they spoke before the king.
22
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 the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead'; and the other says, 'No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'"
23
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." So a sword was brought before the king.
24
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."
25
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 whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."
26
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 the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother."
27
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 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 do justice.
28
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 English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
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.