1 Kings 3
1 And Solomon joineth in marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and taketh the daughter of Pharaoh, and bringeth her in unto the city of David, till he completeth to build his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh of Egypt. He married Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to live in the City of David until he finished building his palace, the Lord's Temple, and the walls surrounding Jerusalem.
2 Only, the people are sacrificing in high places, for there hath not been built a house for the name of Jehovah till those days.
In those days, however, the people still sacrificed on the high places because a Temple to honor the Lord hadn't yet been built.
3 And Solomon loveth Jehovah, to walk in the statutes of David his father — only, in high places he is sacrificing and making perfume —
Solomon showed he loved the Lord by following the instructions of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned offerings on the high places.
4 and the king goeth to Gibeon, to sacrifice there, for it [is] the great high place; a thousand burnt-offerings cause to ascend doth Solomon on that altar.
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the leading high place. Solomon presented one thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
5 In Gibeon hath Jehovah appeared unto Solomon, in a dream of the night, and God saith, 'Ask — what do I give to thee?'
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon. God said to him, “Ask what you want me to give you.”
6 And Solomon saith, 'Thou hast done with Thy servant David my father great kindness, as he walked before Thee in truth and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee, and Thou dost keep for him this great kindness, and dost give to him a son sitting on his throne, as [at] this day.
Solomon replied, “You showed your servant David, my father, great trustworthy love because he lived his life before you with faithfulness, doing what was right and committed to principle. You have continued to show this great trustworthy love by giving him a son to sit on his throne to this day.
7 And now, O Jehovah my God, Thou hast caused thy servant to reign instead of David my father; and I [am] a little child, I do not know to go out and to come in;
Now, Lord God, you have made me king in place of my father David. But I am like an inexperienced young boy who doesn't know what to do.
8 and Thy servant [is] in the midst of thy people, whom Thou hast chosen, a people numerous, that is not numbered nor counted for multitude,
I, your servant, am here in among your chosen people, a great people that are so many they cannot be counted.
9 and Thou hast given to Thy servant an understanding heart, to judge Thy people, to discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great people?'
So please give me a mind that's receptive so I can rule your people well, understanding the difference between right and wrong, for who can rule this difficult people of yours?”
10 And the thing is good in the eyes of the Lord, that Solomon hath asked this thing,
The Lord considered that what Solomon asked for was good.
11 and God saith unto him, 'Because that thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thee many days, nor asked for thee riches, nor asked the life of thine enemies, and hast asked for thee discernment to understand judgment,
So God told him, “Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life, or wealth, or the death of your enemies, but instead you asked for understanding to know what is right,
12 lo, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given to thee a heart, wise and understanding, that like thee there hath not been before thee, and after thee there doth not arise like thee;
I am giving you what you asked for. I am giving you a mind that is wise, with an understanding of what is right, more than anyone else before you or after you.
13 and also, that which thou hast not asked I have given to thee, both riches and honour, that there hath not been like thee a man among the kings all thy days;
I am also giving you what you did not ask for, wealth and status—so much so that no king will compare to you for the whole of your life.
14 and if thou dost walk in My ways to keep My statutes, and My commands, as David thy father walked, then I have prolonged thy days.'
And if you follow my ways by keeping my laws and my commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
15 And Solomon awaketh, and lo, a dream; and he cometh in to Jerusalem, and standeth before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and causeth to ascend burnt-offerings, and maketh peace-offerings. And he maketh a banquet for all his servants,
Then Solomon woke up and realized he'd had a dream. He went back to Jerusalem, and stood in front of the Ark of the Lord's Agreement and he presented burnt offerings and friendship offerings, and he held a feast for all his officials.
16 then come in do two women, harlots, unto the king, and stand before him,
Later two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him for judgment.
17 and the one woman saith, 'O, my lord, I and this woman are dwelling in one house, and I bring forth with her, in the house;
One of the women spoke up, saying, “If it please Your Majesty: I share a house with this woman. I had a baby while she was living in the house.
18 and it cometh to pass on the third day of my bringing forth, that this woman also bringeth forth, and we [are] together, there is no stranger with us in the house, save we two, in the house.
Three days after the birth of my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were together; there was no one else in the house, just the two of us.
19 And the son of this woman dieth at night, because she hath lain upon it,
During the night this woman's son died because she rolled over on him.
20 and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me — and thy handmaid is asleep — and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom;
She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while I was sleeping. She lay him close beside her to cuddle him, and she lay her dead son close beside me.
21 and I rise in the morning to suckle my son, and lo, dead; and I consider concerning it in the morning, and lo, it was not my son whom I did bear.'
When I got up in the morning to nurse my son I saw that he was dead. When I looked closely at him in the light I realized it wasn't my son.”
22 And the other woman saith, 'Nay, but my son [is] the living, and thy son the dead;' and this [one] saith, 'Nay, but thy son [is] the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.
The other woman argued, “No! My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead.” The first woman objected, “No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.” They went on quarrelling in front of the king.
23 And the king saith, 'This [one] saith, This [is] my son, the living, and thy son [is] the dead; and that [one] saith, Nay, but thy son [is] the dead, and my son the living.'
The king intervened, saying, “So this woman says ‘My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead,’ while the other woman says, ‘No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.’”
24 And the king saith, 'Take for me a sword;' and they bring the sword before the king,
“Bring me a sword,” the king ordered. So they brought him a sword.
25 and the king saith, 'Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.'
“Cut the child that's alive in two, and give half to one woman and half to another,” he commanded.
26 And the woman whose son [is] the living one saith unto the king (for her bowels yearned over her son), yea, she saith, 'O, my lord, give to her the living child, and put it not at all to death;' and this [one] saith, 'Let it be neither mine or thine — cut [it].'
But the woman whose son was alive had so much love for him as a mother that she cried out to the king, “Please, Your Majesty, give her the boy! Don't kill him!” But the other woman said, “He won't be mine or yours—cut him in two!”
27 And the king answereth and saith, 'Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she [is] its mother.'
The king gave his verdict. “Give the child that's alive to the first woman,” he ordered. “On no account kill him, for she is his real mother.”
28 And all Israel hear of the judgment that the king hath judged, and fear because of the king, for they have seen that the wisdom of God [is] in his heart, to do judgment.
When everyone in Israel heard about the verdict the king had delivered, they had great respect for the king, because they recognized the wisdom God had given him to judge rightly.
