1 Kings 3 NIV NLT Parallel

◄ 1 Kings 3 ►

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1Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

1Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the LORD and the wall around the city.

2The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD.

2At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built.

3Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

3Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship.

4The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

4The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings.

5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

5That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

6Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

6Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.

7"Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.

7“Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.

8Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.

8And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted!

9So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

9Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.

11So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice,

11So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—

12I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.

12I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!

13Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for--both wealth and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

13And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!

14And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."

14And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

15Then Solomon awoke--and he realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.

15Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet. Solomon Judges Wisely

16Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

16Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled.

17One of them said, "Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me.

17“Please, my lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house.

18The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

18Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.

19"During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him.

19“But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it.

20So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.

20Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her.

21The next morning, I got up to nurse my son--and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."

21And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”

22The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

22Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.” “No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king.

23The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.'"

23Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other.

24Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king.

24All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.

25He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

25Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”

26The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

26Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child—please do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!”

27Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

27Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”

28When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

28When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.

New International Version (NIV)

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