1 Kings Chapter 3

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

¹ Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh and brought his daughter to The City of David till he’d finished building his own palace, Yahveh’s temple, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² People were still sacrificing on the high places; Yahveh didn’t have a temple yet.

³ Solomon loved Yahveh and followed his father’s statutes except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁴ He’d go to Gibeon to sacrifice, the great high place. He offered 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ Yahveh appeared to him in a dream there at night,

            “Ask what you want me to give you.”

⁶ He said, “You’ve shown great enduring love to David as he followed after truth, goodness, and an upright heart toward you. You’ve given him a son to sit on his throne. ⁷ Now, Yahveh my God, you’ve made me king, but I’m just a child. I don’t know how to manage affairs. ⁸ I’m among the people you’ve chosen, people too numerous to count. ⁹ Give me an intelligent mind to judge them, to distinguish good from bad. Who can judge this large nation?”                 1 Kg 3:1-9           

¹⁰ What he asked for pleased Yahveh. ¹¹ He told him,

“Because you’ve asked for that instead of a long life, wealth, or the death of your enemies, ¹² I’ll give you what you asked for: a wise, discerning mind; there has never been anybody like you before or will be afterwards. ¹³ I’ll also give you what you didn’t ask for: wealth and honor like no other king as long as you live. ¹⁴ If you follow my ways and keep my statutes and commandments like your father did, I’ll lengthen your life.”

¹⁵ Solomon woke up; it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem and stood in front of the Ark, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and held a banquet for his officials.                  1 Kg 3:10-15

Solomon’s Wise Ruling

¹⁶ Two prostitutes came and stood in his presence. ¹⁷ One woman said,

“My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby. ¹⁸ and three days later she had one. We were the only ones there. ¹⁹ Her son died during the night because she lay on him. ²⁰ While I was sleeping, she got up and took my son and laid him in her arms and laid her dead son by me. ²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse him, he was dead. But when I looked closely, it wasn’t my son.”

²² The other woman said, “No! the living one is mine. The dead one’s yours.”

The first woman said, “No! the dead one’s yours. The living one’s mine.”

²³ The king said, “One says, ‘This is my son that’s alive.’ The other says, ‘No! your son’s the dead one.’ ²⁴ Get me a sword.”

They brought him one.

²⁵ He said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other.”

²⁶ The real mother spoke out because she was deeply moved over her son, “My lord, give her the living child! Don’t kill him!”

The other said, “He won’t be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”

²⁷ The king answered, “Give the first woman the living child. She’s his mother.” ²⁸ When Israel heard about the judgment he’d handed down, they respected him for the wisdom God had given him for administering justice.   1 Kg 3:16-28