1 Kings 4
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel.
King Solomon ruled over all of Israel.
2 These were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;
These were his officials: Azariah, son of Zadok, was the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;
Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, were the king's secretaries. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, kept the royal records.
4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander. Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king’s friend;
Azariah, son of Nathan, was in charge of the governors. Zabud, son of Nathan, was a priest and the king's counselor.
6 Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
Ahishar was the palace manager. Adoniram, son of Abda, was in charge of those forced to work for the king.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month in the year.
Solomon had twelve area governors whose responsibilities covered the whole of Israel, providing food for the king and his household. Each one in turn arranged supplies for one month of the year.
8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
Their names were: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, in Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh and Elon-beth-hanan;
10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);
Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher was his);
11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as wife);
Ben-abinadab, in the whole of Naphath-dor (Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, was his wife);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;
Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, the whole of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and across to Jokmeam;
13 Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, belonged to him; and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars, belonged to him);
Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (the towns of Jair, son of Manasseh, in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, with sixty great cities having walls and bronze bars);
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife);
Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land.
Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, (the former country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. There was also a governor who was over the land of Judah).
20 Judah and Israel were numerous as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Judah and Israel had become as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank, they were happy.
21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, right up to the border of Egypt. They presented tribute to Solomon and served him during his lifetime.
22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, sixty measures of meal,
The food required every day for Solomon's court was thirty cors of the best flour and sixty cors of meal;
23 ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.
ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, one hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and fattened poultry.
24 For he had dominion over all on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River; and he had peace on all sides around him.
For Solomon ruled over the whole region west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza—over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. He had peace on every border.
25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
During Solomon's lifetime, everyone in Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan to Beersheba. Each one had their own vine and fig tree.
26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
Solomon had 40,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and 12,000 charioteers.
27 Those officers provided food for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, every man in his month. They let nothing be lacking.
Every month the area governors provided in turn food for King Solomon and all who ate at his table. They made sure that nothing was missing.
28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, each man according to his duty.
They also delivered barley and straw where they were needed for the chariot horses and cart-horses.
29 God gave Solomon abundant wisdom, understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand that is on the seashore.
God gave to Solomon wisdom, very great discernment, and understanding as extensive as the sand on the seashore.
30 Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all the Eastern wise men, greater than all of Egypt's wisdom.
31 For he was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations all around.
He was wiser than anyone, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation spread through the nations around.
32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand five.
Solomon composed three thousand proverbs and one thousand and five songs.
33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.
He was able to discuss knowledge of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall. He taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
34 People of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
People from all nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom. They were sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard about his wisdom.
