Solomon’s Princes 1 UST During the time when Solomon was the king of Israel, BSB BSB: So King Solomon ruled over Israel,
2 UST these were his most important officials. Azariah son of Zadok was the high priest. BSB BSB: and these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
3 UST Elihoreph son of Shisha and Ahijah son of Shisha were the official secretaries. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the man who reported to the people everything that Solomon decided they should do. BSB BSB: Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
4 UST Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander. People still honored and respected Zadok and Abiathar because they had been high priests. BSB BSB: Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
5 UST Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors. Another of Nathan’ s sons, Zabud, was an important official who was the king’ s chief advisor. BSB BSB: Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;
6 UST Ahishar supervised{ the servants who worked in} the royal palace. Adoniram son of Abda supervised the men whom the king required to work for him. BSB BSB: Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
Solomon’s Twelve Officers 7 UST Solomon divided Israel into twelve districts. He appointed a man to supervise the collection of food from each district for him and{ the others who lived and worked in} the palace. Each district governor was responsible for providing the food for one month in each year. BSB BSB: Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,
8 UST Here is a list of their names. Ben Hur was the governor for the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lived. BSB BSB: and these were their names: Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 UST Ben Deker was the governor for the cities of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan. BSB BSB: Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;
10 UST Ben Hesed was the governor for the region of Arubboth, which included the city of Sokoh and the area of Hepher. BSB BSB: Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);
11 UST Ben Abinadab was the governor for all of Naphoth Dor.(He married Solomon’ s daughter Taphath.) BSB BSB: Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife);
12 UST Baana son of Ahilud was the governor for the cities of Taanach and Megiddo and for the whole region near the city of Zarethan on the plain below Jezreel, from the city of Beth Shan as far as the city of Abel Meholah, including the city of Jokmeam. BSB BSB: Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
13 UST Ben Geber was the governor for the region of Ramoth Gilead. This region included the villages in Gilead that had belonged to Jair son of Manasseh. This region also included the area of Argob in Bashan. In that area there were 60 large cities. Each city had a wall around it, and the gates in the walls had bronze bars. BSB BSB: Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
14 UST Ahinadab son of Iddo was the governor for the city of Mahanaim{ and the surrounding area}. BSB BSB: Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim;
15 UST Ahimaaz was the governor for{ the territory of the tribe of} Naphtali.(He also married one of Solomon’ s daughters. Her name was Basemath.) BSB BSB: Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he had married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon);
16 UST Baana son of Hushai was the governor for{ the territory of the tribe of} Asher and the city of Bealoth. BSB BSB: Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth;
17 UST Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was the governor for{ the territory of the tribe of} Issachar. BSB BSB: Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar;
18 UST Shimei son of Ela was the governor for{ the territory of the tribe of} Benjamin. BSB BSB: Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;
19 UST Geber son of Uri was the governor for the region of Gilead. That region included the area that Sihon, the king of the Amorites, had formerly ruled. It also included the area that Og, the king of Bashan, had formerly ruled. One governor, Geber, was responsible for this entire region{ even though it was very large}. BSB BSB: Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. There was also one governor in the land of Judah.
Solomon’s Prosperity 20 UST There were very many people in Judah and Israel at that time, just as there are very many grains of sand on the seashore. They had plenty of food to eat and beverages to drink, and they were happy. BSB BSB: The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.
21 UST Solomon’ s kingdom extended from the Euphrates River{ in the northeast} to the region of Philistia{ in the west} and to the border of Egypt{ in the southwest}. Throughout his reign, he ruled the people groups in that area, and they brought him tribute. BSB BSB: And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 UST In order to feed all the people who lived and worked at his palace, every day Solomon needed more than 3, 000 kilograms of fine flour and more than 6, 000 kilograms of regular flour. BSB BSB: Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal,
23 UST He also needed ten fat oxen, 20 cows that had grazed in pastures, and 100 sheep. The food for the palace also included wild game such as deer, gazelle, and roebucks, as well as birds that people had fed to make them fat. BSB BSB: ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry.
24 UST Solomon needed such great supplies because his kingdom included the entire area west of the Euphrates River from the city of Tiphsah{ in the northeast} to the city of Gaza{ in the southwest}. All of the kings in that area were his subjects. And he had peaceful relations with all of the rulers of the kingdoms that were next to his. BSB BSB: For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.
25 UST For the whole time that Solomon reigned, the people of Judah and Israel were safe throughout their entire territory. They were able to plant and harvest abundant crops without anyone disturbing them. BSB BSB: Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
26 UST Solomon had 40, 000 stalls for the horses that pulled his chariots. He had 12, 000 men who rode on horses. BSB BSB: Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.
27 UST The twelve district governors supplied the food that King Solomon needed for himself and for all those who ate with him in the palace. Each governor supplied food for one month each year. They provided everything that Solomon needed in the palace. BSB BSB: Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.
28 UST They also brought barley and straw for the horses that pulled the chariots and for the fast horses that messengers rode. Just as the king required them to do, they brought these things to the stalls where the horses stayed. BSB BSB: Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.
Solomon’s Wisdom 29 UST God enabled Solomon to be wise and to understand things very well. God also enabled Solomon to learn about and remember a huge number of things. BSB BSB: And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.
30 UST Solomon was wiser than all of the wise men in the region to the east of Israel and all of the wise men in Egypt. BSB BSB: Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 UST People considered Ethan the Ezrahite and the three sons of Mahol, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, to be very wise. But Solomon was even wiser than they were and wiser than anyone else. People in all the nearby countries heard about Solomon. BSB BSB: He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.
32 UST Solomon composed 3, 000 proverbs, and he wrote 1, 005 songs. BSB BSB: Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.
33 UST He taught people about various kinds of plants, from the huge cedar trees that grow in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop plants that grow in cracks in walls. He also taught people about wild animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. BSB BSB: He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
34 UST People came from many different parts of the world to listen to the wise things that Solomon said. Many kings learned how wise Solomon was, and they sent people to listen to him{ and then return and tell them what Solomon had said}. BSB BSB: So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.