The Daily Audio Bible

³ Soothly Solomon loved the Lord, and went in the behests of David, his father, except that Solomon offered in high places and burnt incense. (And Solomon loved the Lord, and followed his father David’s commands, except that Solomon offered sacrifices and burned incense at the hill shrines.)

⁴ And so Solomon went into Gibeon, to offer there; for that was the most high place (for that was the most important, or the most famous, hill shrine). Solomon offered upon that altar in Gibeon a thousand offerings into burnt sacrifice.

⁵ Soothly the Lord appeared to Solomon by sleep in the night, and said, Ask thou that, that thou wilt, that I give it to thee.

⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast done great mercy with thy servant David, my father, as he went in thy sight, in truth, and [in] rightwiseness, and in rightful heart with thee; thou hast kept to him thy great mercy (thou hast shown him thy great love), and hast given to him a son, sitting on his throne, as it is today.

⁷ And now, Lord God, thou hast made thy servant to reign for David, my father; forsooth I am a little child (but I am like a little child), and not knowing mine out-going and mine in-coming.

⁸ And thy servant is in the midst of the people, which thou hast chosen, of [a] people without number, that may not be numbered and reckoned, for multitude. (And thy servant is in the midst of the people, whom thou hast chosen, of a people without number, who cannot be counted, or reckoned, for their multitude.)

⁹ Therefore thou shalt give to thy servant an heart able to be taught, that is, enlightened of thee, that he may deem thy people, and judge betwixt good and evil; for who may deem this people, thy people, this much people? (And so give thou to thy servant a heart able to be taught, that is, able to be enlightened by thee, so that he can judge, or rule, thy people, and judge between good and evil; for who can judge, or rule, this people, this great people of thine?)

¹⁰ Therefore the word pleased before the Lord, that Solomon had asked (for) such a thing.

¹¹ And the Lord said to Solomon, For thou askedest this word, and askedest not to thee many days, neither riches, neither the lives of thine enemies, but thou askedest to thee wisdom to deem doom, (And the Lord said to Solomon, For thou askedest for this thing, and askedest not for many days for thyself, nor riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but thou askedest for wisdom to judge justly, or wisely,)

¹² lo! I have done to thee after thy words, and I have given to thee a wise heart and an understanding (one), in so much that no man before thee was like thee, neither shall rise (up) after thee.

¹³ But also I have given to thee these things, which thou askedest not, that is, riches, and glory, that no man be like thee in kings in all times afterward (so that there shall not be any man like thee among the kings in all thy days).

¹⁴ Forsooth if thou goest in my ways, and keepest my biddings and [my] commandments, as thy father went in them, (then) I shall make thy days long.

¹⁵ Therefore Solomon waked, and understood what the sweven was. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord, and he offered burnt sacrifices, and made peaceable sacrifices, and (made) a great feast to all his household/to all his menials. (And so Solomon awoke, and understood the dream. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and he offered burnt sacrifices, and made peace offerings, and made a great feast for all his household/for all his menials.)

¹⁶ Then two women whores came to the king, and stood before him;

¹⁷ of which one said, My lord, I beseech, I and this woman dwelled in one house, and I childed at her in a couch (and I brought forth my child in a bed when she was there).

¹⁸ And in the third day after that I had childed, also this woman childed (And on the third day after that I had given birth, this woman also gave birth); and we were together in the house, and none other was (there) with us in the house, except us twain.

¹⁹ And the son of this woman was dead in the night, for she slept, and over-lay him; (And this woman’s son died in the night, for while she was sleeping, she rolled over, and laid upon him;)

²⁰ and she rose up in the fourth part of the night in silence, and took my son from the side of me, (while) thine handmaid (was) sleeping, and she laid it in her bosom; and she putted in my bosom her son, that was dead.

²¹ And when I had risen early, to give milk to my son, he appeared dead; whom I beheld more diligently by clear light, and I perceived, that he was not mine, whom I had engendered (whom I had begat).

²² The tother woman answered, It is not as thou sayest, but thy son is dead; forsooth my son liveth. The contrary, she said, Thou liest (But the other woman said, Thou liest); for my son liveth, and thy son is dead. And by this manner they strove before the king.

²³ Then the king said, This woman saith, My son liveth, and thy son is dead; and this woman answereth, Nay, but thy son is dead, and my son liveth.

²⁴ Therefore the king said, Bring ye to me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king,

²⁵ he said, Part ye the quick young child in two parts (Divide ye, or cut ye, the young living child in two), and give ye the half part to the one, and the half part to the tother.

²⁶ And the woman, whose son was quick, said to the king; for her entrails were moved on her son; Lord, I beseech, give ye to her the quick child, and do not ye slay him. The contrary, she said, Be he neither to me, neither to thee, but be he parted. (And the woman, whose son was living, said to the king; for she was moved with love for her son; Lord, I beseech thee, give ye to her the child alive, and do not ye kill him. But the other woman said, Be he neither to me, nor to thee, but be he divided, or cut in two.)

²⁷ The king answered, and said, Give ye to this (first) woman the young child quick, and be he not slain (Give ye this first woman the young child alive, and do not kill him); forsooth this is his mother.

²⁸ Therefore all Israel heard the doom, which the king had deemed; and they dreaded the king, and saw, that the wisdom of God was in him, to make doom. (And so all Israel heard the judgement, which the king had decreed; and they revered the king, and saw, that God’s wisdom was in him, to make judgements, or justice.)

4 Forsooth king Solomon was reigning on all Israel.

² And these were the princes which he had; Azariah, the son of Zadok, the priest; (And these were the leaders that he had; Azariah, the son of Zadok, was the priest who was over-the-year, that is, the calendar of events;)

³ Elihoreph, and Ahiah, (the) sons of Shisha, were scribes; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was chancellor;

⁴ Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was prince upon the host (was the leader of the army); and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

⁵ Azariah, the son of Nathan, was upon them that stood nigh [to] the king (was over those who stood close to the king/was over the regional governors); Zabud, the son of Nathan, was [a] priest, a friend of the king;

⁶ and Ahishar was steward of the house; and Adoniram, the son of Abda, was upon the tributes (was in charge of the taxes, or the levies/was in charge of the forced labour).

⁷ Forsooth Solomon had twelve prefects, either chief ministers, on all Israel, that gave lifelode to the king, and to his house; soothly by each month by itself in the year, each prefect by himself ministered necessaries. (And Solomon had twelve prefects, or chief ministers, over all Israel, who gave sustenance, or food, to the king, and to his household; and each month of the year, one prefect by himself administered the necessities.)

⁸ And these be the names of them; Ben-hur, in the hill (country) of Ephraim;

⁹ Ben-dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and in Bethshemesh, and in Elon, and in Bethhanan (and in Elonbethhanan);

¹⁰ Ben-hesed, in Aruboth; and Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher, was (also) his;

¹¹ Ben-abinadab, whose was all Naphath, had Dor Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, to wife. (Ben-abinadab, whose had all of Naphath-dor, that is, the region of Dor, and he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, for a wife.)

¹² Baana, the son of Ahilud, governed Taanach, and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is beside Zartanah, under Jezreel, from Bethshean unto Abelmeholah, even against Jokneam (as far as Jokneam).

¹³ Ben-geber, in Ramoth of Gilead, had Havoth-jair, of the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; he was sovereign in all the country of Argob, which is in Bashan, to sixty great cities and walled, that had brazen locks. (Ben-geber, in Ramoth of Gilead, had Havoth-jair, that is, the tent villages of Jair, who was the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; he was the sovereign, or the ruler, in all the country of Argob, which is in Bashan, yea, to sixty great walled cities that had bronze locks.)

¹⁴ Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, was sovereign in Mahanaim;

¹⁵ Ahimaaz was in Naphtali, but also he had Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, in wedlock;

¹⁶ Baanah, the son of Hushai, was in Asher, and in Aloth;

¹⁷ Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, was in Issachar;

¹⁸ Shimei, the son of Elah, was in Benjamin:

¹⁹ Geber, the son of Uri, was in the land of Gilead, and in the land of Sihon, king of Amorites, and (in the land) of Og, king of Bashan, and upon all things that were in that land.

²⁰ (The people of) Judah and Israel were unnumberable, as the sand of the sea in multitude, eating, and drinking, and being glad.

²¹ Forsooth Solomon was in his lordship, and had all the realms, as from the flood of the land of Philistines, unto the last part of Egypt, of men offering gifts, that is, tributes, to him, and serving to him, in all the days of his life. (For Solomon was in his lordship, and had all the kingdoms, from the Euphrates River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the last part of Egypt; and the men of these places offered tribute, or taxes, to him, and served him, all the days of his life.)

²² Forsooth the meat of Solomon was by each day, thirty cors of clean flour of wheat, and sixty cors of meal, (And each day the food for Solomon and his household, was thirty cors of fine wheat flour, and sixty cors of meal,)

²³ ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen of the pasture(s), and an hundred wethers, besides (the) hunting of harts, of goats, and of bugles (and of buffalo, or wild oxen), and of birds made fat.

²⁴ For he held all the country that was beyond the flood, as from Tiphsah unto Azzah (from Tiphsah to Azzah), and all the kings of those countries; and he had peace by each part in compass.

²⁵ And Judah and Israel dwelled without any dread (And the people of Judah and Israel lived without any fear), each man under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan unto Beersheba, in all the days of Solomon.

²⁶ And Solomon had forty thousand cratches of horses for chariots, and twelve thousand of road horses; (And Solomon had forty thousand stalls for the horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand road horses;)

²⁷ and the foresaid prefects/the chief masters of the king nourished those horses. But also with great busyness they gave [the] necessaries to the board of king Solomon, in their time (But also with great diligence they gave the necessities for King Solomon’s table, each in his turn);

²⁸ also they brought barley, and forage of horses and of work beasts, into the place where the king was, after it was ordained to them. (they also brought barley, and forage, for the horses and the work beasts, to the place where the king was, as it was ordained to them.)

²⁹ Also God gave to Solomon wisdom, and prudence full much (and a great deal of prudence), and largeness of heart, as the sand that is in the brink of the sea.

³⁰ And the wisdom of Solomon passed the wisdom of all [the] east men, and Egyptians; (And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the men of the East, and of all the Egyptians;)

³¹ and he was wiser than all men; he was wiser than Ethan (the) Ezrahite, and than Heman, and than Chalcol, and than Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was named among all folks by compass.

³² And Solomon spake three thousand parables, and his songs were a thousand and five;

³³ and he disputed of trees, from a cedar which is in Lebanon, till to the hyssop that goeth out of the wall; he disputed of work beasts, and (of) birds, and of creeping beasts, and of fishes.

³⁴ And they came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of [the] earth, that heard his wisdom (who heard of his wisdom).

6 But in those days, when the number of disciples increased, the Greeks grumbled against the Hebrews [grutching of Greeks was made against Hebrews], for that their widows were despised in every day's ministering.

² And the twelve called together the multitude of disciples, and said, It is not rightful, that we leave the word of God, and minister to boards.

³ Therefore, brethren, behold ye men of you of good fame [behold ye men of you, of good witnessing, or fame], [seven,] full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, whom we shall ordain on this work;

⁴ for we shall be busy to prayer, and to preach the word of God. [forsooth we shall be busy to prayer and ministry, or preaching, of the word.]

⁵ And the word pleased before all the multitude [And the word pleased to all the multitude]; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a comeling [and Nicolas, a guest, or comeling], a man of Antioch.

⁶ They ordained these before the sight of the apostles, and they prayed, and laid hands on them.

⁷ And the word of the Lord waxed, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem was much multiplied; also a much company of priests obeyed to the faith.

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and of strength, made wonders and great signs in the people. [Stephen, full of grace and strength, did wonders and great signs in the people.]

⁹ But some rose [rised] of the synagogue, that was called of Libertines, and Cyrenians, and of men of Alexandria, and of them that were of Cilicia and of Asia, and disputed with Stephen [disputing with Stephen].

¹⁰ And they might not withstand the wisdom and the spirit, that spake.

¹¹ Then they privily sent men, that should say, that they [have] heard him saying words of blasphemy against Moses and God.

¹² And so they moved together the people, and the elder men, and the scribes; and they came together, and took him [and snatched him], and brought into the council.

¹³ And they ordained false witnesses, that said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against the holy place, and the law.

¹⁴ For we heard him saying, That this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the traditions, which Moses betook to us.

¹⁵ And all men that sat in the council beheld him, and saw his face as the face of an angel. [And all men that sat in the council beholding him, saw the face of him as the face of an angel.]

126 The song of degrees. When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion; we were made as comforted. (When the Lord returned the captives to Zion/When the Lord returned prosperity to Zion; we were made like in a dream.)

² Then our mouth was filled with joy; and our tongue with full out joying. Then they shall say among heathen men; The Lord magnified to do with them. (Then our mouths were filled with joy; and ours tongues with rejoicing. And the heathen said to each other, The Lord hath done great things for them.)

³ The Lord magnified to do with us; we be made glad. (Yea, the Lord did great things for us; and we were glad.)

⁴ Lord, turn thou (again) our captivity; as a strand in the south. (Lord, return thou the captives/return thou our prosperity; like the streams return to the south.)

⁵ They that sow in tears; shall reap in full out joying. (Then they who sowed in tears; shall reap with rejoicing.)

⁶ They going, went, and wept; sending their seeds. But they coming, shall come with full out joying; bearing their handfuls (They going, went, and wept; sending out their seeds. But when they shall return, they shall come back rejoicing; carrying their harvest.)

²⁶ The soul of a man travailing travaileth to himself; for his mouth compelled him. (A person labouring laboureth for himself; for his hunger compelled him.)

²⁷ An unwise man diggeth evil; and fire burneth in his lips. (The unwise person diggeth up evil; and fire burneth on his lips.)