New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel,
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Now Solomon was king over all Israel.
2 and these were his high officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
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And these were his chief men: Azariah, the son of Zadok, was the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;
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Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were scribes; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
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Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was head of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
5 Azariah son of Nathan was over the officials; Zabud son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;
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Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over those in authority in the different divisions of the country; Zabud, the son of Nathan, was priest and the king's friend;
6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
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Ahishar was controller of the king's house; Adoniram, the son of Abda, was overseer of the forced work.
7 Solomon had twelve officials over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year.
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And Solomon put twelve overseers over all Israel, to be responsible for the stores needed for the king and those of his house; every man was responsible for one month in the year.
8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
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And these are their names: ... the son of Hur in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
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... the son of Deker in Makaz and Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);
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... the son of Hesed in Arubboth; Socoh and all the land of Hepher were under his control;
11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath, Solomon's daughter, as his wife);
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... the son of Abinadab in all Naphath-dor; his wife was Taphath, the daughter of Solomon.
12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which 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, the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is by the side of Zarethan, under Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the far side of Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair 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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... the son of Geber in Ramoth-gilead; he had the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and the country of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great towns with walls and locks of brass.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
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Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath, Solomon's daughter, as his wife);
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Ahimaaz in Naphtali; he took Basemath, the daughter of Solomon, as his wife;
16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
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Baana, the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;
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Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;
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Shimei, the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan. And there was one official in the land of Judah.
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Geber, the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan; and one overseer had authority over all the overseers who were in the land.
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy.
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Judah and Israel were as great in number as the sand by the seaside, and they took their food and drink with joy in their hearts.
21 Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
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And Solomon was ruler over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the edge of Egypt; men gave him offerings and were his servants all the days of his life.
22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors of choice flour, and sixty cors of meal,
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And the amount of Solomon's food for one day was thirty measures of crushed grain and sixty measures of meal;
23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
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Ten fat oxen and twenty oxen from the fields, and a hundred sheep, in addition to harts and gazelles and roes and fat fowls.
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.
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For he had authority over all the country on this side of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace round him on every side.
25 During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all of them under their vines and fig trees.
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So Judah and Israel were living safely, every man under his vine and his fig-tree, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 Solomon also had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
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And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 Those officials 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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And those overseers, every man in his month, saw that food was produced for Solomon and all his guests, they took care that nothing was overlooked.
28 They also brought to the required place barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds, each according to his charge.
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And they took grain and dry grass for the horses and the carriage-horses, to the right place, every man as he was ordered.
29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment, and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore,
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And God gave Solomon a great store of wisdom and good sense, and a mind of wide range, as wide as the sand by the seaside.
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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And Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.
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For he was wiser than all men, even than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he had a great name among all the nations round about.
32 He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.
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He was the maker of three thousand wise sayings, and of songs to the number of a thousand and five.
33 He would speak of trees, from the cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish.
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He made sayings about all plants, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop hanging on the wall; and about all beasts and birds and fishes and the small things of the earth.
34 People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
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People came from every nation to give ear to the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had word of his wisdom.
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.