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

1 Solomon made an agreement with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter and bringing her to Jerusalem. At this time Solomon was still building his palace and the Temple of the Lord, as well as a wall around Jerusalem.

2 The Temple for the worship of the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still sacrificing at altars in many places of worship.

3 Solomon showed he loved the Lord by following the commands his father David had given him, except many other places of worship were still used to offer sacrifices and to burn incense.

4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice, because it was the most important place of worship. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

5 While he was at Gibeon, the Lord appeared to him in a dream during the night. God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

6 Solomon answered, "You were very kind to your servant, my father David. He obeyed you, and he was honest and lived right. You showed great kindness to him when you allowed his son to be king after him.

7 Lord my God, now you have made me, your servant, king in my father's place. But I am like a little child; I don't know how to do what must be done.

8 I, your servant, am here among your chosen people, and there are too many of them to count.

9 I ask that you give me an obedient heart so I can rule the people in the right way and will know the difference between right and wrong. Otherwise, it is impossible to rule this great people of yours."

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked this.

11 So God said to him, "You did not ask for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Since you asked for wisdom to make the right decisions,

12 I will do what you asked. I will give you wisdom and understanding that is greater than anyone has had in the past or will have in the future.

13 I will also give you what you did not ask for: riches and honor. During your life no other king will be as great as you.

14 If you follow me and obey my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will also give you a long life."

15 After Solomon woke up from the dream, he went to Jerusalem. He stood before the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord, where he made burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. After that, he gave a feast for all his leaders and officers.

16 One day two women who were prostitutes came to Solomon. As they stood before him,

17 one of the women said, "My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was there with me.

18 Three days later this woman also gave birth to a baby. No one else was in the house with us; it was just the two of us.

19 One night this woman rolled over on her baby, and he died.

20 So she took my son from my bed during the night while I was asleep, and she carried him to her bed. Then she put the dead baby in my bed.

21 The next morning when I got up to feed my baby, I saw that he was dead! When I looked at him more closely, I realized he was not my son."

22 "No!" the other woman cried. "The living baby is my son, and the dead baby is yours!" But the first woman said, "No! The dead baby is yours, and the living one is mine!" So the two women argued before the king.

23 Then King Solomon said, "One of you says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead.' Then the other one says, 'No! Your son is dead and my son is alive.'"

24 The king sent his servants to get a sword. When they brought it to him,

25 he said, "Cut the living baby into two pieces, and give each woman half."

26 The real mother of the living child was full of love for her son. So she said to the king, "Please, my master, don't kill him! Give the baby to her!" But the other woman said, "Neither of us will have him. Cut him into two pieces!"

27 Then King Solomon said, "Don't kill him. Give the baby to the first woman, because she is the real mother."

28 When the people of Israel heard about King Solomon's decision, they respected him very much. They saw he had wisdom from God to make the right decisions.

1 King Solomon ruled over all Israel.

2 These are the names of his lead- ing officers: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, recorded what happened in the courts; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud recorded the history of the people;

4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;

6 Ahishar was responsible for everything in the palace; Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the labor force.

7 Solomon placed twelve governors over the districts of Israel, who gathered food from their districts for the king and his family. Each governor was responsible for bringing food to the king one month of each year.

8 These are the names of the twelve governors: Ben-Hur was governor of the mountain country of Ephraim.

9 Ben-Deker was governor of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan.

10 Ben-Hesed was governor of Arubboth, Socoh, and all the land of Hepher.

11 Ben-Abinadab was governor of Naphoth Dor. (He was married to Taphath, Solomon's daughter.)

12 Baana son of Ahilud was governor of Taanach, Megiddo, and all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan. This was below Jezreel from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across from Jokmeam.

13 Ben-Geber was governor of Ramoth in Gilead. (He was governor of all the towns of Jair in Gilead. Jair was the son of Manasseh. Ben-Geber was also over the district of Argob in Bashan, which had sixty large, walled cities with bronze bars on their gates.)

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was governor of Mahanaim.

15 Ahimaaz was governor of Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, Solomon's daughter.)

16 Baana son of Hushai was governor of Asher and Aloth.

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was governor of Issachar.

18 Shimei son of Ela was governor of Benjamin.

19 Geber son of Uri was governor of Gilead. Gilead had been the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. But Geber was the only governor over this district.

20 There were as many people in Judah and Israel as grains of sand on the seashore. The people ate, drank, and were happy.

21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought Solomon the payments he demanded, and they were under his control all his life.

22 Solomon needed much food each day to feed himself and all the people who ate at his table: one hundred ninety-five bushels of fine flour, three hundred ninety bushels of grain,

23 ten cows that were fed on good grain, twenty cows that were raised in the fields, one hundred sheep, three kinds of deer, and fattened birds.

24 Solomon controlled all the countries west of the Euphrates River -- the land from Tiphsah to Gaza. And he had peace on all sides of his kingdom.

25 During Solomon's life Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, also lived in peace; all of his people were able to sit under their own fig trees and grapevines.

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

27 Each month one of the district governors gave King Solomon all the food he needed -- enough for every person who ate at the king's table. The governors made sure he had everything he needed.

28 They also brought enough barley and straw for Solomon's chariot and work horses; each person brought this grain to the right place.

29 God gave Solomon great wisdom so he could understand many things. His wisdom was as hard to measure as the grains of sand on the seashore.

30 His wisdom was greater than any wisdom of the East, or any wisdom in Egypt.

31 He was wiser than anyone on earth. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, as well as Heman, Calcol, and Darda -- the three sons of Mahol. King Solomon became famous in all the surrounding countries.

32 During his life he spoke three thousand wise sayings and also wrote one thousand five songs.

33 He taught about many kinds of plants -- everything from the great cedar trees of Lebanon to the weeds that grow out of the walls. He also taught about animals, birds, crawling things, and fish.

34 People from all nations came to listen to King Solomon's wisdom. The kings of all nations sent them to him, because they had heard of Solomon's wisdom.

1 Solomon, David's son, became a powerful king, because the Lord his God was with him and made him very great.

2 Solomon spoke to all the people of Israel -- the commanders of a hundred men and of a thousand men, the judges, every leader in all Israel, and the leaders of the families.

3 Then Solomon and all the people with him went to the place of worship at the town of Gibeon. God's Meeting Tent, which Moses the Lord's servant had made in the desert, was there.

4 David had brought the Ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem, where he had made a place for it and had set up a tent for it.

5 The bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, who was the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the Holy Tent. So Solomon and the people worshiped there.

6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the presence of the Lord at the Meeting Tent and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

8 Solomon answered, "You have been very kind to my father David, and you have made me king in his place.

9 Now, Lord God, may your promise to my father David come true. You have made me king of a people who are as many as the dust of the earth.

10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge so I can lead these people in the right way, because no one can rule them without your help."

11 God said to Solomon, "You have not asked for wealth or riches or honor, or for the death of your enemies, or for a long life. But since you have asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead my people, over whom I have made you king,

12 I will give you wisdom and knowledge. I will also give you more wealth, riches, and honor than any king who has lived before you or any who will live after you."

13 Then Solomon left the place of worship, the Meeting Tent, at Gibeon and went back to Jerusalem. There King Solomon ruled over Israel.

14 Solomon had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He kept some in special cities for the chariots, and others he kept with him in Jerusalem.

15 In Jerusalem Solomon made silver and gold as plentiful as stones and cedar trees as plentiful as the fig trees on the western hills.

16 He imported horses from Egypt and Kue; his traders bought them in Kue.

17 They imported chariots from Egypt for about fifteen pounds of silver apiece, and horses cost nearly four pounds of silver apiece. Then they sold the horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.

1 God, give the king your good judgment and the king's son your goodness.

2 Help him judge your people fairly and decide what is right for the poor.

3 Let there be peace on the mountains and goodness on the hills for the people.

4 Help him be fair to the poor and save the needy and punish those who hurt them.

5 May they respect you as long as the sun shines and as long as the moon glows.

6 Let him be like rain on the grass, like showers that water the earth.

7 Let goodness be plentiful while he lives. Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.

8 Let his kingdom go from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

9 Let the people of the desert bow down to him, and make his enemies lick the dust.

10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the faraway lands bring him gifts. bring their presents to him.

11 Let all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.

12 He will help the poor when they cry out and will save the needy when no one else will help.

13 He will be kind to the weak and poor, and he will save their lives.

14 He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them, because their lives are precious to him.

15 Long live the king! Let him receive gold from Sheba. Let people always pray for him and bless him all day long.

16 Let the fields grow plenty of grain and the hills be covered with crops. Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon, and let the cities grow like the grass in a field.

17 Let the king be famous forever; let him be remembered as long as the sun shines. Let the nations be blessed because of him, and may they all bless him.

18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does such miracles.

19 Praise his glorious name forever. Let his glory fill the whole world. Amen and amen.

20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.