1 Kings 3
1 Therfor the rewme was confermyd in to the hondis of Salomon; and bi affynyte, `ether aliaunce, he was ioyned to Pharao, kyng of Egipt; for he took the douyter of Farao, and brouyte in to the citee of Dauid, til he `fillide bildynge his hows, and the hows of the Lord, and the wal of Jerusalem bi cumpas.
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 Netheles the puple offride in hiye places; for the temple was not bildid to the name of the Lord til in to that dai.
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 Forsothe Salomon louyde the Lord, and yede in the comaundementis of Dauid, his fadir, out takun that Salomon offride in hiye placis, and brente encense `in hiye 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 Therfor Salomon yede in to Gabaon, to offre there; for thilke was the moost hiy place. Salomon offride on that auter in Gabaon a thousynde offryngis in to brent sacrifice.
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 Sotheli the Lord apperide to Salomon bi sleep in the nyyt, and seide, Axe thou `that, that thou wolt, that Y yyue to thee.
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 And Salomon seide, Thou hast do greet merci with thi seruaunt Dauid, my fadir, as he yede in thi siyt, in treuthe, and riytfulnesse, and riytful herte with thee; thou hast kepte to hym thi greet merci, and hast youun to hym a sone, sittynge on his trone, as it is to dai.
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, Lord God, thou hast maad thi seruaunt to regne for Dauid, my fadir; forsothe Y am a litil child, and not knowynge myn outgoynge and entryng.
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 And thi seruaunt is in the myddis of the puple, which thou hast chose, of puple with outen noumbre, that may not be noumbrid and rikened, for multitude.
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 Therfor thou schalt yyue to thi seruaunt an herte able to be tauyt, `that is, liytned of thee, that he may deme the puple, and iuge bitwixe good and yuel; for who may deme this puple, thi puple, this miche puple?
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 Therfor the world pleside bifore the Lord, that Salomon hadde axid sich a thing.
Now these words and Solomon's request were pleasing to the Lord.
11 And the Lord seide to Salomon, For thou axidist this word, and axidist not to thee many daies, nether richessis, nether the lyues of thin enemyes, but thou axidist to thee wisdom to deme doom, lo!
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 Y haue do to thee vpe thi wordis, and Y haue youe to thee a wyse herte and vndirstondynge, in so myche that no man bifor thee was lijk thee, nether schal rise aftir thee.
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 But also Y haue youe to thee these thingis, whiche thou axidist not, that is, richessis, and glorie, that no man be lijk thee in kyngis in alle tymes aftirward.
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 Forsothe if thou goist in my weies, and kepist my biddyngis and comaundementis, as thi fadir yede, Y schal make thi daies long.
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 Therfor Salomon wakide, and vndirstood what the sweuen was. And whanne he hadde come to Jerusalem, he stood bifor the arke of boond of pees of the Lord, and he offride brent sacrifices, and made pesible sacrifices, and a greet feeste to alle hise meynees.
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 Thanne twei wymmen hooris camen to the kyng, and stoden bifor hym;
Then two loose women of the town came and took their places before the king;
17 of whiche oon seide, My lord, Y biseche, Y and this womman dwelliden in oon hows, and Y childide at hir in a couche.
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 Sotheli in the thridde dai aftir that Y childide, also this womman childide; and we weren togidere in the hows, and noon other was with vs in the hows, outakun vs tweyne.
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 Forsothe the sone of this womman was deed in the nyyt, for sche slepte, and oppresside hym;
In the night, this woman, sleeping on her child, was the cause of its death.
20 and sche roos in the fourthe part of the nyyt in silence, and took my sone fro the side of me, thin handmaide slepynge, and settide in hir bosum; forsothe sche puttide in my bosum hir sone, that was deed.
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 And whanne Y hadde ryse eerli, to yyue mylk to my sone, he apperide deed; whom Y bihelde diligentlier bi cleer liyt, and Y perseyuede, that he was not myn, whom Y hadde gendrid.
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 The tother womman answeride, It is not so as thou seist, but thi sone is deed; forsothe `my sone lyueth. Ayenward sche seide, Thou liest; for my sone lyueth, and thi sone is deed. And bi this maner thei stryueden bifore the kyng.
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 Thanne the kyng seide, This womman seith, My sone lyueth, and thi sone is deed; and this womman answerith, Nay, but thi sone is deed; forsothe my sone lyueth.
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 Therfor the kyng seide, Brynge ye to me a swerd. And whanne thei hadden brouyt a swerd bifor the kyng,
Then he said, Get me a sword. So they went and put a sword before the king.
25 he seide, Departe ye the quyk yong child in to twei partis, and yyue ye the half part to oon, and the half part to the tother.
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 Forsothe the womman, whos sone was quik, seide to the kyng; for her entrailis weren mouyd on hir sone; Lord, Y biseche, yyue ye to hir the quik child, and nyle ye sle hym. Ayenward sche seide, Be he nethir to me, nether to thee, but be he departid.
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 The kyng answeride, and seide, Yyue ye to this womman the yong child quyk, and be he not slayn; forsothe this is `his modir.
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 Therfor al Israel herde the doom, which the kyng hadde demyd; and thei dredden the kyng, and sien, that the wisdom of God was in hym, to make doom.
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.
