1 T hen Solomon made a marriage agreement with Pharaoh the king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David. She stayed there until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem.

¶ And Solomon became a relative of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for he took Pharaoh’s daughter to wife 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 of Jerusalem round about.

2 T he people were still giving their different gifts on altars, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

Until then the people sacrificed in high places because there was still no house built unto the name of the LORD until those days.

3 N ow Solomon loved the Lord. He walked in the Laws of his father David. But he gave gifts and burned special perfume on different altars.

And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David, his father; only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

4 T he king went to give a gift on the altar in worship at Gibeon, for that was where the most important altar was. Solomon gave a thousand burnt gifts on that altar.

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

5 T he Lord came to Solomon in a special dream in Gibeon during the night. God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.”

¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what you wish that I shall give thee.

6 T hen Solomon said, “You have shown great loving-kindness to Your servant David my father because he was faithful and right and good and pure in heart before You. And You have kept for him this great and lasting love. You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.

And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

7 N ow, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child. I do not know how to start or finish.

And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know how to go out or come in.

8 Y our servant is among Your people which You have chosen. They are many people. There are too many people to number.

And thy slave is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

9 S o give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and know the difference between good and bad. For who is able to judge Your many people?”

Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people?

10 I t pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.

11 G od said to him, “You have asked this, and have not asked for a long life for yourself. You have not asked for riches, or for the life of those who hate you. But you have asked for understanding to know what is right. Because you have asked this,

And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life neither hast asked riches for thyself nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment,

12 I have done what you said. See, I have given you a wise and understanding heart. No one has been like you before, and there will be no one like you in the future.

behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

13 I give you what you have not asked, also. I give you both riches and honor. So there will be no king like you all your days.

And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee in all thy days.

14 A nd if you walk in My ways and keep My Laws and Word as your father David did, I will allow you to live a long time.”

And if thou wilt walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as thy father David walked, then I will lengthen thy days.

15 S olomon awoke, and saw it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem and stood before the Lord’s special box of the agreement. There he gave burnt gifts and peace gifts, and made a special supper for all his servants. Solomon’s Wisdom

And when Solomon awoke, he beheld it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings and made a banquet for all his slaves.

16 T hen two women who sold the use of their bodies came to the king and stood in front of him.

¶ In that season two women, that were harlots, came unto the king and stood before him.

17 O ne of the women said, “O my lord, this woman and I live in the same house. And I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

18 O n the third day after I gave birth, this woman gave birth to a child also. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house. There were only the two of us.

And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered that this woman was delivered also and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.

19 T his woman’s son died during the night, because she lay on him.

And this woman’s child died in the night because she lay on top of him.

20 S o she got up in the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and her dead son in my arms.

And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom.

21 W hen I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I came nearer and looked, I saw that he was not my son who was born to me.”

And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I had given birth to.

22 T hen the other woman said, “No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman said, “No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son.” They spoke this way in front of the king.

And the other woman said, No, but my son is alive, and thy son is dead. And this one said, No, but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. Thus they spoke before the king.

23 T hen the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one.’ The other says, ‘No! Your son is the dead one. My son is the living one.’”

Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that is alive, and thy son is dead. And the other saith, No; but thy son is dead, and my son is alive.

24 A nd the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king.

And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

25 A nd the king said, “Divide the living child in two. Give half to the one woman and half to the other.”

And the king said, Divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other.

26 T hen the mother of the living child had much pity for her son and said to the king, “O, my lord, give her the living child. Do not kill him.” But the other woman said, “He will not be mine or yours. Divide him.”

Then the woman, of whom the living child was, spoke unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

27 T hen the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child. Do not kill him. She is his mother.”

Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it, for she is its mother.

28 W hen all Israel heard how the king had decided, they were afraid of him. For they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do what is right and fair.

And all Israel heard of that judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to judge.