1 Kings 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
Solomon Asks for Wisdom. 1 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her into the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord and the walls surrounding Jerusalem.
2 [a]In the meantime, the people sacrificed upon the high places,[b] for a temple to the name of the Lord had not yet been built. 3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, except that he sacrificed and burned incense upon the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to perform a sacrifice there, for that was an important high place. Solomon offered up one thousand burnt offerings upon that altar.
5 The Lord appeared to Solomon that night in a dream at Gibeon. God said, “Ask me for whatever you want.” 6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, David, my father, because he walked before you in fidelity and righteousness. His heart was upright before you. You have even continued to show him this great kindness by having given him a son to sit upon his throne up to this very day. 7 Now, O Lord, my God, you have established your servant as king in the place of David, my father, but I am only a small child and do not know how to go out and come in. 8 Your servant is among the people you have chosen, a great people. There are so many of them that they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Therefore, give your servant a discerning heart to judge your people and to distinguish between what is good and what is bad, for who would be able to judge this, your great people?”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked for this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked for this thing, and you have not asked for a long life for yourself, or that you be rich, or for the life of your enemies, but you asked for understanding to discern what is just, 12 behold, I am fulfilling your request. I will give you such a wise and understanding heart that there was never anyone like you before your times, nor will anyone like you rise up afterwards.[c]
13 “I will also give you those things for which you did not ask, both riches and honor, so that no other king will be like you as long as you live. 14 If you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and commandments, just as David, your father, walked, then I will prolong your life.”
15 Solomon woke up, and it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. He offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and he celebrated a feast with all his servants.
16 Solomon’s Wisdom. Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “O my lord, I and this woman live in the same house. I had a child while this woman was in the house.
18 “Three days after I had my child, this woman also had a child. We were there together, and there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us. 19 This woman’s child died during the night because she rolled over upon it. 20 She got up in the middle of the night, and she took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast, and she put her dead son by my breast. 21 When I got up the next morning to nurse my son, he was dead. I examined him carefully in the morning, and behold, it was not the son whom I had borne.”
22 The other woman said, “No! My son is the living one; your son is the dead one!” The first woman said, “No! Your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one!” They argued this way before the king.
23 The king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, the living one, and that is your son, the dead one,’ while the other one says, ‘No! Your son is dead, my son is alive.’ ” 24 The king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king. 25 The king said, “Divide the living child in two. Give one-half to one of them, and one-half to the other.”
26 The woman whose child was alive was moved to compassion for her son and she said to the king, “O my lord, give her the living child. Do not kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you will have him. Cut him in two!”
27 The king then said, “Give her the living child. Do not kill him. She is his mother.” 28 When all of Israel heard about how the king had judged the case, they were filled with awe toward the king. They realized that he had the wisdom of God by the way he was able to judge properly.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 3:2 The celebration of worship apart from the place where the Ark resided was not yet forbidden; the editor deplores it, however, because he could see from what happened that the practice had favored idolatry.
- 1 Kings 3:2 High places: continued a Canaanite practice; the worship of the Lord there was contaminated by the worship of Baal (Jdg 6:25f).
- 1 Kings 3:12 The Lord’s overwhelming gratuitous response to Solomon’s request for an understanding heart sets him apart forever and demonstrates the extent to which God blesses those who are faithful and serve with a clean heart.
Melachim Alef 3
Orthodox Jewish Bible
3 And Sh’lomo made an alliance with Pharaoh Melech Mitzrayim, and took Bat Pharaoh as isha, and brought her to Ir Dovid, until he had completed building his Bais (palace), and also the Beis Hashem, and the surrounding chomat Yerushalayim.
2 However HaAm were sacrificing in the high places, because there was no Bayit built unto the Shem of Hashem in those days.
3 And Sh’lomo loved Hashem, walking in the chukkot Dovid Aviv; however he was sacrificing and burning ketoret at the high places.
4 And HaMelech went to Giveon to sacrifice there; for that was the bamah hagedolah (the great high place); a thousand olot did Sh’lomo offer upon that mizbe’ach.
5 In Giveon Hashem appeared to Sh’lomo in a chalom halailah; Elohim said, Ask what I should give thee.
6 And Sh’lomo said, Thou hast showed unto Thy eved Dovid Avi chesed gadol (great mercy), according as he walked before Thee in emes, and in tzedakah, and in yesharah levav (uprightness of heart) with Thee; and Thou hast been shomer to preserve this chesed hagadol for him, that Thou hast given him Ben [Dovid] to sit on his kisse, as is this day.
7 And now, Hashem Elohai, Thou hast made Thy eved Melech in the place of Dovid Avi; and I am but a na’ar katon (little child); I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And Thy eved is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, an Am Rav, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore Thy eved a lev shome’a (discerning heart, mind) to govern Thy people, that I may discern between tov and rav; for who is sufficient to judge this Thy so great a people?
10 And the davar was pleasing in the eyes of Adonoi, that Sh’lomo had made request of this davar.
11 And Elohim said unto him, Because thou hast made request of this davar, and hast not requested for thyself yamim rabbim; neither hast requested osher for thyself, nor hast requested the nefesh of thine oyevim; but hast requested for thyself binah to comprehend mishpat;
12 Hinei, I have done according to thy devarim; hinei, I have given thee a discerning lev chacham; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not requested, both osher, and kavod; so that there shall not be any among the Melachim like unto thee all thy yamim.
14 And if thou wilt walk in My derakhim, to be shomer over My chukkot and My mitzvot, as Dovid Avicha did walk, then I will lengthen thy yamim.
15 And Sh’lomo awoke; and, hinei, it was a chalom! And he returned to Yerushalayim, and stood before the Aron Brit Adonoi, and offered up olot, and offered shelamim, and made a mishteh (feast) for all his avadim.
16 Then came there two nashim, that were zonot (harlots, prostitutes) unto HaMelech, and stood before him.
17 And the one isha said, O adoni, I and this isha dwell in one bayit; and I was delivered of child with her babayit (in the house).
18 And it came to pass the Yom HaShelishi after that I was delivered, that this isha was delivered also: and we were together; there was no zar (stranger, outsider) with us babayit, except we two babayit.
19 And this ben haisha died in the lailah; because she had lain upon him.
20 And she arose in the middle of the lailah, and took beni (my son) from beside me, while thine amah (handmaid) slept, and laid it in her kheyk (bosom), and laid her ben hamet (dead son) in my kheyk.
21 And when I rose in the boker to nurse beni, hinei, met! (dead!) But when I had examined him in the boker, hinei, he was not beni I bore!
22 And the isha ha’acheret (other woman) said, Lo (no); but hachai (the living) is beni (my son), and hamet (the dead) is the ben of yours. But this one said, Lo (no), the ben of yours is hamet (the dead [one]), and beni is hachai! Thus they went on arguing before HaMelech!
23 Then said HaMelech, The one saith, This is beni (my son) hachai (the living [one]), and thy ben is hamet (the dead [one]); and the other saith, Lo; but the ben of yours is hamet, and beni is hachai.
24 And HaMelech said, Bring me a cherev. And they brought the cherev before HaMelech.
25 And HaMelech said, Cut the yeled hachai in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26 Then spoke unto HaMelech the isha whose was the ben hachai, for her rachamim yearned for her ben, and she said, O adoni, give her the yeled hachai, and in no wise put him to death. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but cut him in two!
27 Then HaMelech answered and said, Give her the yeled hachai, and in no wise put him to death; she is immo (his mother).
28 And kol Yisroel heard of the mishpat (judgment) in which HaMelech had given verdict; and they feared HaMelech; for they saw that the chochmat Elohim was within him, to administer mishpat (justice).
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