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3 And (A)Solomon loved Yahweh, (B)walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 (C)And the king went to (D)Gibeon to sacrifice there, (E)for that was the great high place; Solomon offered one thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 (F)In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon (G)in a dream at night; and God said, “(H)Ask what I should give to you.”
God Gives Wisdom to Solomon
6 Then Solomon said, “(I)You have shown great lovingkindness to Your slave David my father, (J)according to how he walked before You in [a]truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and (K)You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 So now, O Yahweh my God, (L)You have made Your slave king in place of my father David, yet (M)I am but a little child; (N)I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 (O)And Your slave is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, (P)a numerous people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So (Q)give Your slave a listening heart to judge Your people (R)to discern between good and evil. For who is able to [b]judge this glorious people of Yours?”
10 [c]And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have (S)not asked for yourself [d]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 listen to justice, 12 behold, (T)I have done according to your words. Behold, (U)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. 13 (V)I have also given you what you have not asked, both (W)riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. 14 (X)Now if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will (Y)prolong your days.”
15 Then (Z)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 (AA)made a feast for all his servants.
Solomon Wisely Judges
16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, “Oh, my lord, [e]this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 And 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 And this woman’s son died in the night because she lay on him. 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. 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.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But [f]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.
23 Then the king said, “[g]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and [h]the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 Then the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, for [i](AB)she was deeply stirred with compassion over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!” 27 Then the king said, “Give [j]the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother.” 28 Then all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had [k]handed down, and they feared the king, for (AC)they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
Solomon’s Officials
4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 These were his officials:
Azariah the son of Zadok was (AD)the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes;
(AE)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
4 and (AF)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army;
and Zadok and (AG)Abiathar were priests;
5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over (AH)the deputies;
and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s friend;
6 and Ahishar was over the household;
and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
7 Now Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who sustained the king and his household; each man had to sustain them for a month in the year. 8 These are their names:
Ben-hur, in the (AI)hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker in Makaz and (AJ)Shaalbim and (AK)Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth ((AL)Socoh was his and all the land of (AM)Hepher);
11 Ben-abinadab, in all [l]the (AN)height of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in (AO)Taanach and Megiddo, and all (AP)Beth-shean which is beside (AQ)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to (AR)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of (AS)Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in (AT)Ramoth-gilead (now [m](AU)Havvoth-Jair—Jair being the son of Manasseh—which is in Gilead was his: (AV)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his);
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in (AW)Mahanaim;
15 (AX)Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana the son of (AY)Hushai, in Asher and [n]Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 (AZ)Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, (BA)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.
Judah’s and Israel’s Abundance and Security
20 (BB)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the [o]seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and being glad.
21 [p](BC)Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms (BD)from the [q]River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; (BE)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 And Solomon’s [r]provision for one day was [s]thirty kors of fine flour and [t]sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, twenty [u]pasture-fed oxen, one hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over everything [v]west of the [w]River, from Tiphsah even to (BF)Gaza, (BG)over all the kings [x]west of the [y]River; and (BH)he had peace on all sides around about him. 25 (BI)So Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and his fig tree, (BJ)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 (BK)Solomon had [z]40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And these deputies sustained King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. 28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and (BL)swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to the legal judgment for him.
29 And (BM)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of understanding in his heart, (BN)like the sand that is on the seashore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all (BO)the sons of the east and (BP)all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 And (BQ)he was wiser than all men, than (BR)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, (BS)Calcol, and [aa]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and the renown of his name was in all the surrounding nations. 32 (BT)He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. 34 [ab]And men (BU)came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Selection of the Seven
6 Now in those days, while the (A)disciples were (B)multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the [a](C)Hellenists against the (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [b]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, (G)brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5 And this word pleased the whole [c]congregation, and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a [d](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)And the word of God kept on spreading, and (R)the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great [e]many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
Stephen Accused of Blasphemy
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great (T)wonders and [f]signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both (U)Cyrenians and (V)Alexandrians, and some from (W)Cilicia and [g](X)Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they (Y)came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to (Z)the Sanhedrin. 13 And they put forward (AA)false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this (AB)holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that (AC)this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter (AD)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the (AE)Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.
Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap with Joy
A Song of Ascents.
126 When Yahweh [a](A)returned [b]the captive ones of Zion,
We were (B)like those who dream.
2 Then our (C)mouth was filled with laughter
And our (D)tongue with shouts of joy;
Then they said among the nations,
“Yahweh has (E)done great things for them.”
3 Yahweh has done great things for us;
We are (F)glad.
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