1 Kings 4

1 `Forsothe kyng Salomon was regnynge on al Israel.

So King Solomon ruled over Israel,

2 And these weren the princes which he hadde; Azarie, sone of Sadoch, preest;

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

3 Helioreb, and Haia, sones of Sila, `weren scryueyns; Josophat, sone of Achilud, was chaunseler;

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

4 Banaie, sone of Joiada, was on the oost; forsothe Sadoch and Abiathar weren preestis;

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

5 Azarie, sone of Nathan, was on hem that stoden niy the kyng; Zabul, the sone of Nathan, was preest, `that is, greet and worschipful, a freend of the kyng;

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

6 and Ahiasar was stiward of the hows; and Adonyram, sone of Adda, was on the tributis.

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

7 Forsothe Salomon hadde twelue `prefectis, ether cheef minystrys, on al Israel, that yauen lijflode to the kyng, and to his hows; sotheli bi ech monethe bi it silf in the yeer, ech prefect bi hym silf mynystride necessaries.

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 ben the names of hem; Benhur, in the hil of Effraym;

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

9 Bendechar, in Macces, and in Salebbym, and in Bethsames, and in Helon, and in Bethanan;

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

10 Beneseth, in Araboth; forsothe Socco, and al the lond of Epher was his;

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

11 Benabidanab, whos was al Neptad, hadde Dortaphaed, `Solomons douyter, to wijf.

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

12 Bena, sone of Achilud, gouernyde Thaneth, and Mageddo, and al Bethsan, which is bisidis Sarthana, vndur Jezrael, fro Bethsan `til to Abelmeula, euene ayens Zelmaan.

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 Bengaber in Ramoth of Galaad hadde Anothiair, of the sone of Manasses, in Galaad; he was souereyn in al the cuntrey of Argob, which is in Basan, to sixti greet citees and wallid, that hadden brasun lockis.

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 Achymadab, sone of Addo, was souereyn in Manaym;

Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim;

15 Achymaas was in Neptalym, but also he hadde Bachsemath, douyter of Salomon, in wedloc;

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

16 Banaa, sone of Husy, was in Aser, and in Balod;

Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth;

17 Josephat, sone of Pharue, was in Ysachar; Semey, sone of Hela, was in Beniamyn;

Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar;

18 Gaber,

Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;

19 sone of Sury, was in the lond of Galaad, and in the lond of Seon, kyng of Amorrey, and of Og, kyng of Basan, on alle thingis, that weren in that lond.

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 Juda and Israel weren vnnoumbrable, as the soond of the see in multitude, etynge, and drynkynge, and beynge glad.

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

21 Forsothe Solomon was in his lordschip, and hadde alle rewmes, as fro the flood of the lond of Filisteis `til to the laste part of Egipt, of men offrynge yiftis to hym, and seruynge to hym, in alle the daies of his lijf.

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 Forsothe the mete of Salomon was bi ech day, thritti chorus of clene flour of whete, and sixti chorus of mele,

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

23 ten fatte oxis, and twenti oxis of lesewe, and an hundrid wetheris, outakun huntyng of hertys, of geet, and of buglis, and of briddis maad fat.

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

24 For he helde al the cuntrei that was biyende the flood, as fro Caphsa `til to Gasa, and alle the kyngis of tho cuntreis; and he hadde pees bi ech part in cumpas.

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 And Juda and Israel dwelliden withouten ony drede, ech man vndur his vyne, and vndur his fige tree, fro Dan `til to Bersabe, in alle the daies of Salomon.

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 Salomon hadde fourty thousynd cratchis of horsis for charis, and twelue thousynde of roode horsis; and the forseid prefectis nurshiden tho horsis.

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

27 But also with greet bisynesse thei yauen necessaries to the boord of kyng Salomon in her tyme;

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 also thei brouyten barli, and forage of horsis and werk beestis, in to the place where the king was, `bi ordenaunce to hem.

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

29 Also God yaf to Salomon wisdom, and prudence ful myche, and largenesse of herte, as the soond which is in the brenke of the see.

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

30 And the wisdom of Solomon passide the wisdom of alle eest men, and Egipcians;

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

31 and he was wisere than alle men; he was wisere than Ethan Esraite, and than Eman, and than Cacal, and than Dorda, the sones of Maol; and he was named among alle folkis bi cumpas.

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 And Salomon spak thre thousynde parablis, and hise songis weren fyue thousynde;

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

33 and he disputide of trees fro a cedre which is in the Lyban, `til to the ysope that goith out of the wal; he disputide of werk beestis, and briddis, and crepynge beestis, and fischis.

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 And thei camen fro alle puplis to here the wisdom of Salomon, and fro alle kyngis of erthe, that herden 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.