The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
1 King Solomon was off to a good start ruling Israel.
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King Solomon now ruled over all Israel,
2 These were the leaders in his government: Azariah son of Zadok - the priest;
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and these were his high officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha - secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud - historian;
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Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada - commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar - priests;
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Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Azariah son of Nathan - in charge of the regional managers; Zabud son of Nathan - priest and friend to the king;
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Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.
6 Ahishar - manager of the palace; Adoniram son of Abda - manager of the slave labor.
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Ahishar was manager of the palace property. Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.
7 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.
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Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year.
8 These are the names: Ben-Hur in the Ephraim hills;
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These are the names of the twelve governors: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Ben-Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan;
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Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.
10 Ben-Hesed in Arubboth - this included Socoh and all of Hepher;
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Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
11 Ben-Abinadab in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath);
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Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor. (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)
12 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;
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Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.
13 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;
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Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh ) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim;
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Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath);
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Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)
16 Baana son of Hushai in Asher and Aloth;
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Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar;
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Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;
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Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.
19 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.
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Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan. There was also one governor over the land of Judah.
20 Judah and Israel were densely populated - like sand on an ocean beach! All their needs were met; they ate and drank and were happy.
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The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink.
21 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.
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Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.
22 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.
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The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal ;
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also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.
24 Solomon was sovereign over everything, countries and kings, west of the River Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza. Peace reigned everywhere.
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Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders.
25 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.
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During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.
26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls for chariot horses and twelve thousand horsemen.
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Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.
27 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.
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The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him.
28 They also brought to the designated place their assigned quota of barley and straw for the horses.
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They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.
29 God gave Solomon wisdom - the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn't handle.
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God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore.
30 Solomon's wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt.
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In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt.
31 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.
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He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.
32 He created three thousand proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005.
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He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.
33 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.
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He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish.
34 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.
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And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.