1 Kings 4

1 Now Solomon was king over all Israel.

So King Solomon ruled over Israel,

2 And these were his chief men: Azariah, the son of Zadok, was the priest;

and these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were scribes; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;

Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

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

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

5 Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over those in authority in the different divisions of the country; Zabud, the son of Nathan, was priest and the king's friend;

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

6 Ahishar was controller of the king's house; Adoniram, the son of Abda, was overseer of the forced work.

Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

7 And Solomon put twelve overseers over all Israel, to be responsible for the stores needed for the king and those of his house; every man was responsible for one month in the year.

Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,

8 And these are their names: ... the son of Hur in the hill country of Ephraim;

and these were their names: Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim;

9 ... the son of Deker in Makaz and Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;

Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;

10 ... the son of Hesed in Arubboth; Socoh and all the land of Hepher were under his control;

Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);

11 ... the son of Abinadab in all Naphath-dor; his wife was Taphath, the daughter of Solomon.

Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife);

12 Baana, the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is by the side of Zarethan, under Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the far side of Jokmeam;

Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;

13 ... the son of Geber in Ramoth-gilead; he had the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and the country of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great towns with walls and locks of brass.

Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

14 Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim;

15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali; he took Basemath, the daughter of Solomon, as his wife;

Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he had married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon);

16 Baana, the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth;

Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth;

17 Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar;

18 Shimei, the son of Ela, in Benjamin;

Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;

19 Geber, the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan; and one overseer had authority over all the overseers who were in the land.

Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. There was also one governor in the land of Judah.

20 Judah and Israel were as great in number as the sand by the seaside, and they took their food and drink with joy in their hearts.

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

21 And Solomon was ruler over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the edge of Egypt; men gave him offerings and were his servants all the days of his life.

And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 And the amount of Solomon's food for one day was thirty measures of crushed grain and sixty measures of meal;

Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal,

23 Ten fat oxen and twenty oxen from the fields, and a hundred sheep, in addition to harts and gazelles and roes and fat fowls.

ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry.

24 For he had authority over all the country on this side of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace round him on every side.

For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates —over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.

25 So Judah and Israel were living safely, every man under his vine and his fig-tree, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.

Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.

26 And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.

Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.

27 And those overseers, every man in his month, saw that food was produced for Solomon and all his guests, they took care that nothing was overlooked.

Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.

28 And they took grain and dry grass for the horses and the carriage-horses, to the right place, every man as he was ordered.

Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.

29 And God gave Solomon a great store of wisdom and good sense, and a mind of wide range, as wide as the sand by the seaside.

And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.

30 And Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For he was wiser than all men, even than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he had a great name among all the nations round about.

He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.

32 He was the maker of three thousand wise sayings, and of songs to the number of a thousand and five.

Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.

33 He made sayings about all plants, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop hanging on the wall; and about all beasts and birds and fishes and the small things of the earth.

He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

34 People came from every nation to give ear to the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had word of his wisdom.

So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.