World English Bible

Chapter 3

¹Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, 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. ²Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Yahweh until those days. ³Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. ⁴The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar. ⁵In Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give you. ⁶Solomon said, You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I don’t know how to go out or come in. ⁸Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can’t be numbered nor counted for multitude. ⁹Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people? ¹⁰The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice; ¹²behold, I have done according to your word: behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like you. ¹³I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you, all your days. ¹⁴If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days. ¹⁵Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. ¹⁶Then there came two women who were prostitutes, to the king, and stood before him. ¹⁷The one woman said, Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. ¹⁸It happened the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. ¹⁹This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it. ²⁰She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. ²¹When I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I bore. ²²The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. ²³Then said the king, The one says, This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead: and the other says, No; but your son is the dead, and my son is the living. ²⁴The king said, Get me a sword. They brought a sword before the king. ²⁵The king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. ²⁶Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it. ²⁷Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is the mother of it. ²⁸All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.