| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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. | 1Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem. |
| 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. | 2The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. |
| 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. | 3Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. |
| 4The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. | 4The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. |
| 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!” | 5In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, "Ask what you wish me to give you." |
| 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. | 6Then Solomon said, "You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. |
| 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. | 7"Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. |
| 8And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! | 8"Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. |
| 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?” | 9"So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" |
| 10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. | 10It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. |
| 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— | 11God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, |
| 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! | 12behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. |
| 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! | 13"I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. |
| 14And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.” | 14"If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days." |
| 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 | 15Then 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 burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. |
| 16Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. | 16Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. |
| 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. | 17The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. |
| 18Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. | 18"It happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house. |
| 19“But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. | 19"This woman's son died in the night, because she lay on it. |
| 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. | 20"So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. |
| 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.” | 21"When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne." |
| 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. | 22Then the other woman said, "No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son." But the first woman said, "No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son." Thus they spoke before the king. |
| 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. | 23Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one'; and the other says, 'No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.'" |
| 24All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king. | 24The king said, "Get me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. |
| 25Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!” | 25The king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other." |
| 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!” | 26Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!" |
| 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!” | 27Then the king said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother." |
| 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. | 28When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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