1Ki 3 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt , and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord , and the wall around Jerusalem .

1 Kings 3

Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

1 Now ^aSolomon ^{▼▼Lit made himself a son-in-law of Pharaoh}formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter ^cand brought her to the city of David ^duntil he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord, and ^ethe wall around Jerusalem. 2 ^fThe people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

3 Now ^gSolomon loved the Lord, ^hwalking in the statutes of his father David, except that he was sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. 4 And ⁱthe king went to ^jGibeon to sacrifice there, ^kbecause that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 ^lIn Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon ^min a dream at night; and God said, “ ⁿAsk what you wish Me to give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, “ ^oYou have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, ^paccording as he walked before You in ^{▼▼Or faithfulness}truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and ^rYou have ^{▼▼Lit kept}reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, Lord my God, ^tYou have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet ^uI am like a little boy; ^vI do not know how to ^{▼▼I.e., conduct daily business}go out or come in. 8 And ^xYour servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, ^ya great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So ^zgive Your servant ^{▼▼Or a heart that listens}an understanding heart to judge Your people, ^abto discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this ^{▼▼Lit heavy}great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 Now ^{▼▼Lit the thing was}it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have ^aenot asked for yourself ^{▼▼Lit many days}a long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, 12 behold, ^agI have done according to your words. Behold, ^ahI have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 13 ^aiI have also given you what you have not asked, both ^ajriches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. 14 And ^akif you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will ^alprolong your days.”

15 Then ^amSolomon 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 burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and ^anheld a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Wisely Judges

16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Pardon me, my lord: ^{▼▼Lit I and this woman}this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child ^{▼▼Lit with her in}while she was in the house. 18 And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house. 19 Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and she laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! But when I examined him closely in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne!” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But ^{▼▼Lit this one was saying}the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” So they spoke before the king.

23 Then the king said, “ ^{▼▼Lit this one}The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and ^{▼▼Lit this one}the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 But the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for ^{▼▼Lit her compassion grew hot
,} ^aushe was deeply stirred over her son, and she said, “Pardon me, my lord! Give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other woman was saying, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!” 27 Then the king replied, “Give ^{▼▼Lit her the living}the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judgment which the king had ^{▼▼Lit judged}handed down, they feared the king, because ^axthey saw that the wisdom of God was in him to ^{▼▼Lit do}administer justice.