1 Kings 3
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22
1 And Solomon 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 the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
2 Only the people sacrificed in high
places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those
days.
3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in
the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high
places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice
there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did
Solomon offer upon that altar.
5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared
to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto
thy servant David my father great mercy, 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 kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on
his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O LORD 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 or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst
of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered
nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an
understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and
bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that
Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou
hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast
asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast
asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
12 Behold, I have done according to thy
words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there
was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto
thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which
thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any
among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to
keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will
lengthen thy days.
15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it
was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace
offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
16 Then came there two women,
that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I
and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in
the house.
18 And it came to pass the third day after
that 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.
19 And this woman’s child died in the
night; because she overlaid it.
20 And she arose at midnight, and took my
son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and
laid her dead child in my bosom.
21 And when I rose in the morning to give
my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning,
behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the
living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but
the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake
before the king.
23 Then said the king, The one saith, This
is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other
saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
24 And the king said, Bring me a sword.
And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living
child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26 Then spake the woman whose the living
child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she
said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the
other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
27 Then the king answered and said, Give
her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
28 And all 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 judgment.
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