1 Kings 3
1 Solomon went to see the king of Egypt. Solomon [made an agreement with him to] marry his daughter. They also made an alliance/agreement [that their armies would not attack each other]. Then Solomon brought the king’s daughter to live in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. [She lived there] until Solomon’s workers had finished building his house and the temple of Yahweh and the wall around Jerusalem.
And Solomon contracted an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, —and took the daughter of Pharaoh, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Yahweh, and the wall of Jerusalem, round about.
2 [At that time] the temple of Yahweh had not yet been built, so the Israeli people were still offering sacrifices at many other places of worship.
Save only, that the people were sacrificing in the high places, —because there had not been built a house unto the Name of Yahweh, until those days,
3 Solomon loved Yahweh, and he obeyed all the instructions that his father David had given him. But he also offered sacrifices and burned incense at various altars.
Solomon loved Yahweh, by walking in the statutes of David his father, —save only, that, in the high places, he himself, was sacrificing and offering incense.
4 One day the king went to Gibeon [city] to offer a sacrifice there, because that was where the most famous/important altar was. In previous years he had offered hundreds of sacrifices on that altar.
So then the king went to Gibeon, to sacrifice there, for, that, was the great high place, —a thousand ascending-sacrifices, did Solomon offer up on that altar.
5 That night, Yahweh appeared to him in a dream. He asked Solomon, “What would you like me to give to you?”
In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared unto Solomon, in a dream by night, —and God said, Ask, what I shall give thee.
6 Solomon replied, “You always greatly and faithfully loved my father David, who served you [well]. You did that because he (was faithful to/faithfully obeyed) you and acted righteously and honestly toward you. And you have showed how greatly and faithfully you loved him by giving to him me, his son, and now I am ruling [MTY] as he did [before he died].
Then said Solomon—Thou, didst deal, with thy servant David my father, in great lovingkindness, according as he walked before thee, in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart, with thee, —and thou hast kept, for him, this great lovingkindness, that thou hast given unto him a son, to sit upon his throne, as it is this day.
7 “Now, Yahweh my God, you have appointed me to be the king like my father was. But I am [very young, like] a little child [MET]. I do not know how to lead/rule my people at all [IDM].
Now, therefore, O Yahweh my God, thou, hast made thy servant king, instead of David my father, —and, I, am but a little child, I know not how to go out and come in.
8 I am here among the people whom you have chosen. They are a very large group of people; there are very, very many of them, with the result that no one can count them [DOU].
And, thy servant, is in the midst of thy people, whom thou hast chosen, —a numerous people, that cannot be numbered or summed up, for multitude.
9 So please enable me to think clearly, in order that I may rule your people [well]. Enable me to know what is good and what is evil. [If you do not do that, ] I will never [RHQ] be able to rule this great group of people who belong to you.”
Wilt thou, then, give unto thy servant, a heart that hearkeneth, to judge thy people, to discern between good and bad, —for who is able to judge this thine honoured people?
10 Yahweh was very pleased that Solomon had requested that.
And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, —that Solomon had asked this thing;
11 God said to him, “You did not request that you live for many years or that you become very rich or that you be able to kill all your enemies. Instead, you have requested that I enable you to be wise, in order that you will be able to know [and to do] what is right [while you govern these people].
And God said unto him—Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself many days, nor asked for thyself riches, nor asked the lives of thine enemies, —but hast asked for thyself discernment, in hearing a cause,
12 So, I will certainly do what you requested. I will enable you to be very wise [DOU]. The result will be that no one who has lived before you or who will live after you will be as [wise as] you are.
lo! I have done according to thy word, —lo! I have given unto thee a wise and discerning heart, so that, like thee, hath been none, before thee, and, after thee, shall rise up none, like thee.
13 I will also give you things that you did not request: I will enable you to become very rich and honored, as long as you live. You will be richer and more honored than any other king.
Moreover also, what thou hast not asked, have I given unto thee, both riches and honour, —so that there hath been none, like thee, among the kings, all thy days.
14 If you conduct your life [IDM] as I want you to, and if you obey all my laws and commandments, as your father David did, I will enable you to live for many years.”
And, if thou wilt walk in my ways, by keeping my statutes, and my commandments, as, David thy father, walked, then will I lengthen out thy days.
15 Then Solomon awoke, and he realized that [God had spoken to him in] a dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of [the Sacred Tent where] the Sacred Chest [was], and he offered many sacrifices that were completely burned [on the altar] and offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then he made a feast for all his officials.
And Solomon awoke, and lo! it was a dream. So he entered into Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and caused to go up ascending-sacrifices and offered peace-offerings, and made a banquet for all his servants.
16 One day two prostitutes came and stood in front of King Solomon.
Then, came there in two unchaste women, unto the king, —and stood before him.
17 One of them said, “Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was there in the house.
And the one woman said—Pardon, my lord! I and this woman, dwell in one house, —and I gave birth to a child near her, in the house.
18 Three days after my baby was born, this woman also gave birth to a baby. Only the two of us were in the house; there was no one else there.
And it came to pass, the third day after I bare, that, this woman also, gave birth to a child, —we two, being together, there was no stranger with us in the house, none but we two in the house.
19 “But one night this woman’s baby died because she [accidentally] rolled on top of her baby [while sleeping and smothered it].
And this woman’s son died in the night, —because she overlaid it.
20 So she got up at midnight and took my baby boy who was lying beside me while I was sleeping. She carried him to her bed and brought her dead baby and put it in my bed.
Then arose she, in the middle of the night, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid was sleeping, and laid it in her own besom, —but, her dead son, laid she in, my, bosom.
21 When I awoke the next morning and was ready to nurse my baby, I saw that it was dead. But when I looked at it closely in the morning light, I saw that it was not my baby!”
And, when I arose in the morning, to give suck unto my child, lo! it was dead! but, when I looked at it narrowly in the morning, lo! it was not, my son that I had borne.
22 But the other woman said, “That is not true! The baby that is alive is mine, and the baby that is dead is yours!” Then the first woman said, “No, the dead baby is yours, and the one that is alive is mine!” And they continued to argue in front of the king.
Then said the other woman—Nay! but, my son, is the, living, and, thy son, the, dead. But, this, one kept on saying—Nay, verily! but, thy son, is the, dead, and, my son, the, living. Thus spake they before the king.
23 Then the king said, “Both of you are saying, ‘My baby is the one that is alive and the one that is dead is yours.’”
Then said the king, The one woman, is saying, This, is, my son, the one that liveth, and, thy son, is, the one that is dead, —and, the other, is saying, Nay! but, thy son, is, the dead one, and, my son, the, living.
24 So he said to one of his servants, “Bring me a sword.” So the servant brought a sword to the king.
And the king said—Bring me a sword! So they brought a sword before the king.
25 Then the king said to the servant, “Cut the baby that is alive into two parts. Give one part to each of the women.”
Then said the king, Divide the living child, in twain, —and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26 But the woman whose baby was alive loved her baby very much, so she said to the king, “No, Your Majesty! Do not allow him to kill the baby! Give her the child that is alive!” But the other woman said to the king, “No, cut it in half. Then it will not be her baby or my baby.”
Then spake the woman, whose was the living child, unto the king—for tender became her compassions over her son—so she said—Pardon, my lord! Give, her, the living child, and do not, kill, it. But the other kept on saying—Neither mine, nor thine, shall it be, divide it.
27 Then the king said to the servant, “Do not kill the baby. Give the baby to the woman who said ‘Do not cut the baby in half,’ because she is truly the baby’s mother.”
Then responded the king, and said—Give, her, the living child, ye shall not, kill, it, —she, is its mother.
28 All the Israeli people heard about what the king had decided, and they revered him. They realized that God had truly enabled him to be very wise, to judge people’s matters fairly.
And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had delivered, and they stood in awe before the king, —for they saw, that, the wisdom of God, was in him, to execute justice.
