1 Kings 3
1 Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.
Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife, keeping her in the town of David, till the house he was building for himself, and the house of the Lord and the wall round Jerusalem, were complete.
2 The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built.
But all this time the people were making their offerings in the high places, because no house had been put up to the name of the Lord till those days.
3 And Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
And Solomon, in his love for the Lord, kept the laws of David his father; but he made offerings and let them go up in smoke on the high places.
4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
And the king went to Gibeon to make an offering there, because that was the chief high place: it was Solomon's way to make a thousand burned offerings on that altar.
5 One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
In Gibeon, Solomon had a vision of the Lord in a dream by night; and God said to him, Say what I am to give you.
6 Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
And Solomon said, Great was your mercy to David my father, as his life before you was true and upright and his heart was true to you; and you have kept for him this greatest mercy, a son to take his place this day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.
And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father; and I am only a young boy, with no knowledge of how to go out or come in.
8 Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number.
And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given.
9 Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
Give your servant, then, a wise heart for judging your people, able to see what is good and what evil; for who is able to be the judge of this great people?
10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had made this request.
Now these words and Solomon's request were pleasing to the Lord.
11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice—
And God said to him, Because your request is for this thing, and not for long life for yourself or for wealth or for the destruction of your haters, but for wisdom to be a judge of causes;
12 behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.
I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future.
13 Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.
And with this I have given you what you made no request for: wealth and honour, so that no king was ever your equal.
14 So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”
And if you go on in my ways, keeping my laws and my orders as your father David did, I will give you a long life.
15 Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.
And Solomon, awakening, saw that it was a dream; then he came to Jerusalem, where he went before the ark of the agreement of the Lord, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings; and he made a feast for all his servants.
16 At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
Then two loose women of the town came and took their places before the king;
17 One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house.
And one of them said, O my lord, I and this woman are living in the same house; and I gave birth to a child by her side in the house.
18 On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us.
And three days after the birth of my child, this woman had a child: we were together, no other-person was with us in the house but we two only.
19 During the night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on him.
In the night, this woman, sleeping on her child, was the cause of its death.
20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her bosom and put her dead son at my bosom.
And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was sleeping; and she took it in her arms and put her dead child in my arms.
21 The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”
And when I got up to give my child the breast, I saw that it was dead; but in the morning, looking at it with care, I saw that it was not my son.
22 “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.
And the other woman said, No; but the living child is my son and the dead one yours. But the first said, No; the dead child is your son and the living one mine. So they kept on talking before the king.
23 Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”
Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living.
24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword,
Then he said, Get me a sword. So they went and put a sword before the king.
25 and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
And the king said, Let the living child be cut in two and one half given to one woman and one to the other.
26 Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”
Then the mother of the living child came forward, for her heart went out to her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the child; do not on any account put it to death. But the other woman said, It will not be mine or yours; let it be cut in two.
27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.”
Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.
28 When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
And news of this decision which the king had made went through all Israel; and they had fear of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to give decisions.
