1 Kings 3–11

Solomon Asks God for Wisdom

3Solomon and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, agreed to help each other. So Solomon got married to Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David. She stayed there until he finished building his palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall that was around Jerusalem.

²But the people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places where they worshiped. That’s because a temple hadn’t been built yet where the Lord would put his Name.

³Solomon showed his love for the Lord. He did it by obeying the laws his father David had taught him. But Solomon offered sacrifices at the high places. He also burned incense there.

⁴King Solomon went to the city of Gibeon to offer sacrifices. That’s where the most important high place was. He offered 1,000 burnt offerings on the altar that was there.

⁵The Lord appeared to Solomon at Gibeon. He spoke to him in a dream during the night. God said, “Ask for anything you want me to give you.”

⁶Solomon answered, “You have been very kind to my father David, your servant. That’s because he was faithful to you. He did what was right. His heart was honest. And you have continued to be very kind to him. You have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

⁷“Lord my God, you have now made me king. You have put me in the place of my father David. But I’m only a little child. I don’t know how to carry out my duties. ⁸I’m here among the people you have chosen. They are a great nation. They are more than anyone can count. ⁹So give me a heart that understands. Then I can rule over your people. I can tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Who can possibly rule over this great nation of yours?”

¹⁰The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for that. ¹¹So God said to him, “You have not asked to live for a long time. You have not asked to be wealthy. You have not even asked to have your enemies killed. Instead, you have asked for understanding. You want to do what is right and fair when you judge people. Because that is what you have asked for, ¹²I will give it to you. I will give you a wise and understanding heart. So here is what will be true of you. There has never been anyone like you. And there never will be.

¹³“And that is not all. I will give you what you have not asked for. I will give you riches and honor. As long as you live, no other king will be as great as you are. ¹⁴Live the way I want you to. Obey my laws and commands, just as your father David did. Then I will let you live for a long time.”

¹⁵Solomon woke up. He realized he had been dreaming.

He returned to Jerusalem. He stood in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Then he gave a big dinner for all of his officials.

Solomon Judges Wisely

¹⁶Two prostitutes came to the king. They stood in front of him. ¹⁷One of them said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. ¹⁸Three days after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone. There wasn’t anyone in the house but the two of us.

¹⁹“During the night this woman’s baby died. It happened because she was lying on top of him. ²⁰So she got up in the middle of the night. She took my son from my side while I was asleep. She put him by her breast. Then she put her dead son by my breast. ²¹The next morning, I got up to nurse my son. But he was dead! I looked at him closely in the morning light. And I saw that it wasn’t my baby.”

²²The other woman said, “No! The living baby is my son. The dead one belongs to you.”

But the first woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours. The living one belongs to me.” So they argued in front of the king.

²³The king said, “One of you says, ‘My son is alive. Your son is dead.’ The other one says, ‘No! Your son is dead. Mine is alive.’ ”

²⁴He continued, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to him. ²⁵Then he gave an order. He said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to one woman and half to the other.”

²⁶The woman whose son was alive was filled with deep concern for her son. She said to the king, “My master, please give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Cut him in two!”

²⁷Then the king made his decision. He said, “Give the living baby to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She’s his mother.”

²⁸All of the people of Israel heard about the decision the king had given. That gave them great respect for him. They saw that God had given him wisdom. They knew that Solomon would do what was right and fair when he judged people.

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

4So King Solomon ruled over the whole nation of Israel. ²Here are the names of his chief officials.

Azariah was the priest. He was the son of Zadok.

³Elihoreph and Ahijah were secretaries. They were the sons of Shisha.

Jehoshaphat kept the records. He was the son of Ahilud.

⁴Benaiah was the commander in chief. He was the son of Jehoiada.

Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

⁵Azariah was in charge of the local officials. He was the son of Nathan.

Zabud was a priest. He was the king’s personal adviser. He was the son of Nathan.

⁶Ahishar was in charge of the palace.

Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work for the king. He was the son of Abda.

⁷Solomon also had 12 local governors over the whole land of Israel. They provided supplies for the king and the royal family. Each governor had to provide supplies for one month out of each year. ⁸Here are their names and areas.

Ben-Hur’s area was the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹Ben-Deker’s area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan.

¹⁰Ben-Hesed’s area was Arubboth. Socoh and the whole land of Hepher were included in his area.

¹¹Ben-Abinadab’s area was Naphoth Dor. He got married to Solomon’s daughter Taphath.

¹²Baana’s area was Taanach, Megiddo and the whole territory of Beth Shan. Beth Shan was next to Zarethan below Jezreel. Baana’s area reached from Beth Shan all the way to Abel Meholah. It also went across to Jokmeam. Baana was the son of Ahilud.

¹³Ben-Geber’s area was Ramoth Gilead. The settlements of Jair, the son of Manasseh, were included in his area in Gilead. The area of Argob in Bashan was also included. That area had 60 large cities that had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy bronze bars.

¹⁴Ahinadab’s area was Mahanaim. He was the son of Iddo.

¹⁵Ahimaaz’s area was Naphtali. He had gotten married to Basemath. She was Solomon’s daughter.

¹⁶Baana’s area was Asher and Aloth. He was the son of Hushai.

¹⁷Jehoshaphat’s area was Issachar. He was the son of Paruah.

¹⁸Shimei’s area was Benjamin. He was the son of Ela.

¹⁹Geber’s area was Gilead. He was the only governor over the area. He was the son of Uri. Gilead had been the country of Sihon and Og. Sihon had been king of the Amorites. Og had been king of Bashan.

Solomon’s Daily Supplies

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

²¹Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. He ruled as far as the border of Egypt. All of those countries brought the gifts he required them to bring him. And Solomon ruled over those countries for his whole life.

²²Here are the supplies Solomon required every day.

185 bushels of fine flour

375 bushels of meal

²³ten head of cattle that had been fed by hand

20 head of cattle that had been fed on grasslands

100 sheep and goats

deer, antelopes and roebucks

the finest birds

²⁴Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms that were west of the Euphrates River. He ruled from Tiphsah all the way to Gaza. And he had peace and rest on every side.

²⁵While Solomon was king, Judah and Israel lived in safety. They were secure from Dan all the way to Beersheba. Each man had his own vine and fig tree.

²⁶Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his chariot horses. He had a total of 12,000 horses.

²⁷The local officials provided supplies for King Solomon. They provided them for all who ate at the king’s table. Each official provided supplies for one month every year. The officials made sure the king had everything he needed. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. Each of them brought the amounts that were required of them. They brought them to the proper places.

God Makes Solomon Very Wise

²⁹God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn’t even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can’t measure that either.

³⁰Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all of the people of the east. It was greater than all of the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹Solomon was wiser than any other man. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all of the nations that were around him.

³²He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs. ³³He explained all about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He taught about animals and birds. He also taught about reptiles and fish.

³⁴The kings of all of the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.

Solomon Asks Hiram to Help Build the Temple

5Hiram was the king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had been anointed as king. He heard that Solomon had become the next king after his father David. Hiram had always been David’s friend. So Hiram sent his messengers to Solomon.

²Then Solomon sent a message back to Hiram. It said,

³“As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control.

⁴“But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any…