English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel,
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King Solomon was off to a good start ruling Israel.
2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest;
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These were the leaders in his government: Azariah son of Zadok - the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
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Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha - secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud - historian;
4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
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Benaiah son of Jehoiada - commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar - priests;
5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;
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Azariah son of Nathan - in charge of the regional managers; Zabud son of Nathan - priest and friend to the king;
6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
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Ahishar - manager of the palace; Adoniram son of Abda - manager of the slave labor.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.
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Solomon had twelve regional managers distributed throughout Israel. They were responsible for supplying provisions for the king and his administration. Each was in charge of bringing supplies for one month of the year.
8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
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These are the names: Ben-Hur in the Ephraim hills;
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan;
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Ben-Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);
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Ben-Hesed in Arubboth - this included Socoh and all of Hepher;
11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
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Ben-Abinadab in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
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Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah over to Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
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Ben-Geber in Ramoth Gilead - this included the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead and the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty large walled cities with bronze-studded gates;
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
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Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
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Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath);
16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
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Baana son of Hushai in Asher and Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
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Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar;
18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
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Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.
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Geber son of Uri in Gilead - this was the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and also of Og king of Bashan; he managed the whole district by himself.
20 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
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Judah and Israel were densely populated - like sand on an ocean beach! All their needs were met; they ate and drank and were happy.
21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
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Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates in the east to the country of the Philistines in the west, all the way to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and were vassals of Solomon all his life.
22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,
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One day's food supply for Solomon's household was: 185 bushels of fine flour 375 bushels of meal 10 grain-fed cattle 20 range cattle 100 sheep and miscellaneous deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl.
23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.
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24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him.
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Solomon was sovereign over everything, countries and kings, west of the River Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza. Peace reigned everywhere.
25 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.
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Throughout Solomon's life, everyone in Israel and Judah lived safe and sound, all of them from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south - content with what they had.
26 Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.
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Solomon had forty thousand stalls for chariot horses and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon's table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking.
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The district managers, each according to his assigned month, delivered food supplies for King Solomon and all who sat at the king's table; there was always plenty.
28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.
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They also brought to the designated place their assigned quota of barley and straw for the horses.
29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,
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God gave Solomon wisdom - the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn't handle.
30 so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
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Solomon's wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
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He was wiser than anyone - wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, wiser than Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. He became famous among all the surrounding nations.
32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.
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He created three thousand proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005.
33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.
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He knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall. He understood everything about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.
34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
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Sent by kings from all over the earth who had heard of his reputation, people came from far and near to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.