| 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; |
| 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. |
