1 Kings 3; 1 Kings 4; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalms 72

1 Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David's City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

2 A temple had not yet been built for the Lord, and so the people were still offering sacrifices at many different altars.

3 Solomon loved the Lord and followed the instructions of his father David, but he also slaughtered animals and offered them as sacrifices on various altars.

4 On one occasion he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices because that was where the most famous altar was. He had offered hundreds of burnt offerings there in the past.

5 That night the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him, "What would you like me to give you?"

6 Solomon answered, "You always showed great love for my father David, your servant, and he was good, loyal, and honest in his relation with you. And you have continued to show him your great and constant love by giving him a son who today rules in his place.

7 O Lord God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don't know how to rule.

8 Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted.

9 So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?"

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this,

11 and so he said to him, "Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies,

12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before or will ever have again.

13 I will also give you what you have not asked for: all your life you will have wealth and honor, more than that of any other king.

14 And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life."

15 Solomon woke up and realized that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the Lord's Covenant Box and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. After that he gave a feast for all his officials.

16 One day two prostitutes came and presented themselves before King Solomon.

17 One of them said, "Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there.

18 Two days after my child was born, she also gave birth to a baby boy. Only the two of us were there in the house - no one else was present.

19 Then one night she accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it.

20 She got up during the night, took my son from my side while I was asleep, and carried him to her bed; then she put the dead child in my bed.

21 The next morning, when I woke up and was going to nurse my baby, I saw that it was dead. I looked at it more closely and saw that it was not my child."

22 But the other woman said, "No! The living child is mine, and the dead one is yours!" The first woman answered back, "No! The dead child is yours, and the living one is mine!" And so they argued before the king.

23 Then King Solomon said, "Each of you claims that the living child is hers and that the dead child belongs to the other one."

24 He sent for a sword, and when it was brought,

25 he said, "Cut the living child in two and give each woman half of it."

26 The real mother, her heart full of love for her son, said to the king, "Please, Your Majesty, don't kill the child! Give it to her!" But the other woman said, "Don't give it to either of us; go on and cut it in two."

27 Then Solomon said, "Don't kill the child! Give it to the first woman - she is its real mother."

28 When the people of Israel heard of Solomon's decision, they were all filled with deep respect for him, because they knew then that God had given him the wisdom to settle disputes fairly.

1 Solomon was king of all Israel,

2 and these were his high officials: The priest: Azariah son of Zadok

3 The court secretaries: Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha In charge of the records: Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud

4 Commander of the army: Benaiah son of Jehoiada Priests: Zadok and Abiathar

5 Chief of the district governors: Azariah son of Nathan Royal Adviser: the priest Zabud son of Nathan

6 In charge of the palace servants: Ahishar In charge of the forced labor: Adoniram son of Abda

7 Solomon appointed twelve men as district governors in Israel. They were to provide food from their districts for the king and his household, each man being responsible for one month out of the year.

8 The following are the names of these twelve officers and the districts they were in charge of: Benhur: the hill country of Ephraim

9 Bendeker: the cities of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, Elon, and Beth Hanan

10 Benhesed: the cities of Arubboth and Socoh and all the territory of Hepher

11 Benabinadab, who was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath: the whole region of Dor

12 Baana son of Ahilud: the cities of Taanach, Megiddo, and all the region near Beth Shan, near the town of Zarethan, south of the town of Jezreel, as far as the city of Abel Meholah and the city of Jokmeam

13 Bengeber: the city of Ramoth in Gilead, and the villages in Gilead belonging to the clan of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, and the region of Argob in Bashan, sixty large towns in all, fortified with walls and with bronze bars on the gates

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo: the district of Mahanaim

15 Ahimaaz, who was married to Basemath, another of Solomon's daughters: the territory of Naphtali

16 Baana son of Hushai: the region of Asher and the town of Bealoth

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah: the territory of Issachar

18 Shimei son of Ela: the territory of Benjamin

19 Geber son of Uri: the region of Gilead, which had been ruled by King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan Besides these twelve, there was one governor over the whole land.

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore; they ate and drank, and were happy.

21 Solomon's kingdom included all the nations from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. They paid him taxes and were subject to him all his life.

22 The supplies Solomon needed each day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal;

23 10 stall-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, and 100 sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and poultry.

24 Solomon ruled over all the land west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah on the Euphrates as far west as the city of Gaza. All the kings west of the Euphrates were subject to him, and he was at peace with all the neighboring countries.

25 As long as he lived, the people throughout Judah and Israel lived in safety, each family with its own grapevines and fig trees.

26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand cavalry horses.

27 His twelve governors, each one in the month assigned to him, supplied the food King Solomon needed for himself and for all who ate in the palace; they always supplied everything needed.

28 Each governor also supplied his share of barley and straw, where it was needed, for the chariot horses and the work animals.

29 God gave Solomon unusual wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured.

30 Solomon was wiser than the wise men of the East or the wise men of Egypt.

31 He was the wisest of all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame spread throughout all the neighboring countries.

32 He composed three thousand proverbs and more than a thousand songs.

33 He spoke of trees and plants, from the Lebanon cedars to the hyssop that grows on walls; he talked about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

34 Kings all over the world heard of his wisdom and sent people to listen to him.

1 Solomon, the son of King David, took firm control of the kingdom of Israel, and the Lord his God blessed him and made him very powerful.

2 King Solomon gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand men and of a hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and all the rest of the people,

3 commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the Tent of the Lord's presence was located, which Moses, the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness

4 (The Covenant Box, however, was in Jerusalem, kept in a tent which King David had set up when he brought the Box from Kiriath Jearim.)

5 The bronze altar which had been made by Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was also in Gibeon in front of the Tent of the Lord's presence. King Solomon and all the people worshiped the Lord there.

6 In front of the Tent the king worshiped the Lord by offering sacrifices on the bronze altar; he had a thousand animals killed and burned whole on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and asked, "What would you like me to give you?"

8 Solomon answered, "You always showed great love for my father David, and now you have let me succeed him as king.

9 O Lord God, fulfill the promise you made to my father. You have made me king over a people who are so many that they cannot be counted,

10 so give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?"

11 God replied to Solomon, "You have made the right choice. Instead of asking for wealth or treasure or fame or the death of your enemies or even for long life for yourself, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule my people, over whom I have made you king.

12 I will give you wisdom and knowledge. And in addition, I will give you more wealth, treasure, and fame than any king has ever had before or will ever have again."

13 So Solomon left the place of worship at Gibeon, where the Tent of the Lord's presence was, and returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.

14 He built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem, and the rest he stationed in various other cities.

15 During his reign silver and gold became as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah.

16 The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri and Cilicia,

17 and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.

1 Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with him your own justice,

2 so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness.

3 May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness.

4 May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy and defeat their oppressors.

5 May your people worship you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.

6 May the king be like rain on the fields, like showers falling on the land.

7 May righteousness flourish in his lifetime, and may prosperity last as long as the moon gives light.

8 His kingdom will reach from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

9 The peoples of the desert will bow down before him; his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.

10 The kings of Spain and of the islands will offer him gifts; the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him offerings.

11 All kings will bow down before him; all nations will serve him.

12 He rescues the poor who call to him, and those who are needy and neglected.

13 He has pity on the weak and poor; he saves the lives of those in need.

14 He rescues them from oppression and violence; their lives are precious to him.

15 Long live the king! May he be given gold from Sheba; may prayers be said for him at all times; may God's blessings be on him always!

16 May there be plenty of grain in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon. May the cities be filled with people, like fields full of grass.

17 May the king's name never be forgotten; may his fame last as long as the sun. May all nations ask God to bless them as he has blessed the king.

18 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He alone does these wonderful things.

19 Praise his glorious name forever! May his glory fill the whole world. Amen! Amen!

20 This is the end of the prayers of David son of Jesse.