English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house 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 were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had 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 loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at 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.

4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer 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 in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall 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!”

6And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this 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.

7And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.

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.

8And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.

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

9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

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?”

10It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

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

11And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,

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—

12behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

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!

13I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.

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 will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen 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.”

15And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

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

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

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

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.

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.

18Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house.

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

19And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.

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

20And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at 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.

21When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that 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.”

22But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke 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.

23Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’”

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.

24And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king.

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

25And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the 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!”

26Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “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.”

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 answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; 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!”

28And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do 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.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

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.