| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall all around Jerusalem. | 1Later, Solomon intermarried with the family of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt by taking his daughter and bringing her to the City of David to live until he had completed building his own palace, the LORD's Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem. |
| 2Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. | 2The people were sacrificing at various high places because the Temple had not yet been built and dedicated to the LORD. |
| 3And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. | 3Solomon loved the LORD, and lived according to the statutes that his father David obeyed, except that he sacrificed and burned offerings at the high places. |
| 4Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. | 4The king used to go to Gibeon to sacrifice, since there was a famous high place there, where Solomon once offered 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar. |
| 5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” | 5The LORD appeared to Solomon one night in a dream and told him, "Ask me for whatever you want and I'll give it to you." |
| 6And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. | 6So Solomon said: "You have demonstrated abundant gracious love to your servant David, my father, as he lived in your presence truthfully, righteously, and uprightly in his heart. In addition, you have kept on showing this abundant gracious love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today. |
| 7Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. | 7Now, LORD my God, you have set me as king to replace my father David, but I'm still young. I don't have any leadership skills. |
| 8And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. | 8Your servant lives in the midst of your people that you have chosen, a great people that is too numerous to be counted. |
| 9Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” | 9So give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, so I can discern between good and evil. Otherwise, how will I be able to govern this great people of yours?" |
| 10The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. | 10The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for this, |
| 11Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, | 11so God told him: "Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life for yourself, and you didn't ask for the lives of your enemies, but instead you've asked for discernment so you can understand how to govern, |
| 12behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. | 12look how I'm going to do precisely what you asked. I'm giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you. |
| 13And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. | 13I'm also giving you what you haven't requested: both riches and honor, so that no other king will be comparable to you during your lifetime. |
| 14So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” | 14If you will live life my way, keeping my statutes and my commands, just like your father David did, I'll also increase the length of your life." |
| 15Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. | 15Then Solomon woke up and realized that he had dreamed a dream. Then he went back to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the LORD's covenant, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and threw a party for all of his servants. |
| 16Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. | 16Right about then, two prostitutes approached the king and requested an audience with him. |
| 17And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. | 17One woman said, "Your majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. |
| 18Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. | 18Three days later, this woman also gave birth. We lived alone there. There was nobody else with us in the house. It was just the two of us. |
| 19And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. | 19This woman's son died overnight because she laid on top of him. |
| 20So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. | 20She got up in the middle of the night, took my son from me while your servant was asleep, and laid him to her breast after laying her dead son next to me. |
| 21And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.” | 21The next morning, I got up to nurse my son, and he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the light of day, he turned out not to be my son whom I had borne!" |
| 22Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king. | 22"Not so," claimed the other woman. "The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours." But the first woman said, "Not so! The dead child is your son and the living one is my son." This is what they testified before the king. |
| 23And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” | 23The king said, "One of them claims, 'This living son is mine, and your son is the dead one' and the other claims 'No. Your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.' |
| 24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. | 24"Somebody get me a sword." So they brought a sword to the king. |
| 25And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.” | 25"Divide the living child in two!" he ordered. "Give half to the one and half to the other." |
| 26Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” | 26The woman whose child was still alive cried out to the king, because her heart yearned for her son. "Oh no, your majesty!" she said. "Give her the living child. Please don't kill him." But the other woman said, "Cut him in half! That way, he'll belong to neither one of us." |
| 27So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.” | 27The king announced his decision: "Give the living child to the first woman. Don't kill him. She is his mother." |
| 28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. | 28When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at the king, because they all saw that God's wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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