< 1 Kings 3 >
1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
2 Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Jehovah until those days.
3 And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father. Only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings upon that altar.
5 In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou have shown to thy servant David my father great loving kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee. And thou have kept for him this great loving kindness, that thou have given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day.
7 And now, O Jehovah my God, thou have made thy servant king instead of David my father. And I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou have chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to judge this thy great people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said to him, Because thou have asked this thing, and have not asked for thyself long life, neither have asked riches for thyself, nor have asked the life of thine enemies, but have asked for thyself understanding to discern justice,
12 behold, I have done according to thy word. Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there has been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like thee all thy days.
14 And if thou will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David walked, then I will lengthen thy days.
15 And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.
17 And the one woman said, Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house. And I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
18 And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also. And we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, except we two in the house.
19 And this woman's child died in the night, because she lay upon it.
20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead. But when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.
22 And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And the other woman said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, The one says, This is my son that lives, and thy son is the dead. And the other says, No, but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
24 And the king said, Fetch me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26 Then the woman whose the living child was spoke to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor thine. Divide it.
27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and by no means kill it; she is the mother of it.
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged. And they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.
