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Chapter 3 |
| 1 | And Solomon
made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and
brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his
own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round
about. |
| 2 |
Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was
no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. |
| 3 | And
Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he
sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. |
|
4 | 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 | In Gibeon the LORD
appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give
thee. |
| 6 |
And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my
father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in
righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for
him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne,
as it is this day. |
| 7 | And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy
servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know
not how to go out or come in. |
|
8 | And thy servant is in the midst of thy
people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor
counted for multitude. |
| 9 | Give therefore thy servant an understanding
heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is
able to judge this thy so great a people? |
|
10 | And the speech pleased the
LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. |
|
11 | 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 discern judgment;
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| 12 | Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise
and an understanding heart; 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 asked, both riches, and honor: so that
there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. |
| 14 |
And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as
thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. |
| 15 | And
Solomon awoke; and, behold, 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 feast to all his servants. |
| 16 | Then
came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before
him. |
| 17 |
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 |
And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman
was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the
house, save we two in the house. |
| 19 | And this woman's child died
in the night; because she overlaid it. |
| 20 | And she arose at midnight,
and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her
bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. |
|
21 | 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 did bear. |
| 22 | And
the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son.
And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they
spake before the king. |
| 23 | Then said the king, The one saith, This is
my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy
son is the dead, and my son is the living. |
|
24 | And the king said,
Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. |
| 25 | And the
king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half
to the other. |
|
26 | Then spake the woman whose the living child was
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 | Then the king answered and
said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother
thereof. |
| 28
| And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had
judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in
him, to do judgment. |
