1 ARST Now Solomon made an agreement to marry the daughter of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Then Solomon brought the king’ s daughter to live in the part of Jerusalem called the city of David. She lived there until Solomon’ s workers had finished building his house, the temple of Yahweh, and the wall around Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.
2 ARST At that time the temple of Yahweh had not yet been built, so the Israelite people were still offering sacrifices at many other places of worship. BSB BSB: The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built.
3 ARST Solomon loved Yahweh, and he obeyed all the instructions that his father David had given him. But he also offered sacrifices and burned incense at various places. BSB BSB: And Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
4 ARST One day the king went to the city of Gibeon to offer a sacrifice there, because that was where a very famous place of worship was. He offered a thousand whole burnt sacrifices there. BSB BSB: Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
5 ARST That night, Yahweh appeared to him at Gibeon in a dream. He asked him,“What would you like me to give to you?” BSB BSB: One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
6 ARST Solomon replied,“You always greatly and faithfully loved my father David, who served you well. You did that because he was faithful to you and acted righteously and honestly toward you. And you have shown how greatly and faithfully you loved him by giving me to him, his son, and now I am ruling as he did before he died. BSB BSB: Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 ARST Now, Yahweh my God, you have enabled me to be the king like my father was. But I am very young, like a little child. I do not know how to rule my people at all. BSB BSB: And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.
8 ARST I live among the people whom you have chosen. They are a very large group of people. There are very, very many of them; no one can count them. BSB BSB: Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number.
9 ARST So please enable me to think clearly, in order that I may rule your people well. Enable me to know what is good and what is evil. If you do not do that, I will never be able to rule this great group of people who belong to you.” BSB BSB: Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
10 ARST Yahweh was very pleased that Solomon had requested that. BSB BSB: Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had made this request.
11 ARST God said to him,“You did not request that you live for many years or that you become very rich or that you be able to kill all your enemies. Instead, you have requested that I enable you to be wise, in order that you will be able to know and to do what is right while you govern these people. BSB BSB: So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice—
12 ARST So I will certainly do what you requested. I will enable you to be very wise. The result will be that no one who has lived before you or who will live after you will be as wise as you are. BSB BSB: behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been another like you, nor will there ever be.
13 ARST I will also give you things that you did not request. I will enable you to become very rich and honored, all of the years that you live. You will be richer and more honored than any other king. BSB BSB: Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.
14 ARST If you conduct your life as I want you to, and if you obey all my laws and commandments, as your father David did, I will enable you to live for many years.” BSB BSB: So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”
15 ARST Then Solomon awoke, and he realized that God had spoken to him in a dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the sacred tent where the sacred chest was, and he offered many sacrifices that were completely burned on the altar and offerings to promise friendship with Yahweh. Then he made a feast for all his officials. BSB BSB: Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.
16 ARST One day two prostitutes came and stood in front of King Solomon. BSB BSB: At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17 ARST One of them said,“Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was there in the house. BSB BSB: One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house.
18 ARST On the third day after my baby was born, this woman also gave birth to a baby. Only the two of us were in the house. There was no one else there. BSB BSB: On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us.
19 ARST But one night this woman’ s baby died because she accidentally rolled on top of her baby and smothered it. BSB BSB: During the night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on him.
20 ARST So she got up at midnight and took my baby boy who was lying beside me while I was sleeping. She carried him to her bed and brought her dead baby and put it in my bed. BSB BSB: So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her bosom and put her dead son at my bosom.
21 ARST When I awoke the next morning and was ready to nurse my baby, I saw that it was dead. But when I looked at it closely in the morning light, I saw that it was not my baby!” BSB BSB: The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”
22 ARST But the other woman said,“That is not true! The baby that is alive is mine, and the baby that is dead is yours!” Then the first woman said,“No, the dead baby is yours, and the one that is alive is mine!” And they continued to argue in front of the king. BSB BSB: “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.
23 ARST Then the king said,“Both of you are saying,‘My baby is the one that is alive and the one that is dead is yours.’” BSB BSB: Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”
24 ARST So he said to one of his servants,“Bring me a sword.” So the servant brought a sword to the king. BSB BSB: The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword,
25 ARST Then the king said to the servant,“Cut the baby that is alive into two parts. Give one part to each of the women.” BSB BSB: and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 ARST But the woman whose baby was alive greatly loved her baby, so she said to the king,“No, Your Majesty! Do not allow him to kill the baby! Give her the child that is alive!” But the other woman said to the king,“No, cut it in half. Then it will not be her baby or my baby.” BSB BSB: Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”
27 ARST Then the king said to the servant,“Do not kill the baby. Give the baby to the woman who said,‘Do not cut the baby in half,’ because she is truly the baby’ s mother.” BSB BSB: Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.”
28 ARST All the Israelite people heard about what the king had decided, and they had an awesome respect for him. They realized that God had truly enabled him to be very wise, to judge people’ s matters fairly. BSB BSB: When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.