1 Kings 4

1 `Forsothe kyng Salomon was regnynge on al Israel.

Now Solomon was king over all Israel.

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

And these were his chief men: Azariah, the 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 scribes; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;

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

Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was head 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, 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;

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

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

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.

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.

8 And these ben the names of hem; Benhur, in the hil of Effraym;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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, 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;

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.

... 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.

14 Achymadab, sone of Addo, was souereyn in Manaym;

Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

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

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

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

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

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

Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

18 Gaber,

Shimei, the 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, 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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

And the amount of Solomon's food for one day was thirty measures of crushed grain and sixty measures 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 and twenty oxen from the fields, and a hundred sheep, in addition to harts and gazelles and roes and fat fowls.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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 a great store of wisdom and good sense, and a mind of wide range, as wide as the sand by the seaside.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.