1 Kings 3

¹ Solomon became son-in-law to Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, the house of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

² Only, the people were sacrificing at the high places, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD until those days.

³ Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

⁴ The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

⁵ At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. God said, "Ask what I should give you."

⁶ Solomon said, "You showed great loyal love to your servant David my father, as he walked before you in faithfulness and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great loyal love, and you have given him a son sitting on his throne this day.

⁷ And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, though I am a young boy who does not know how to go out or come in.

⁸ Your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people who cannot be numbered or counted for multitude.

⁹ Give your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?"

¹⁰ The speech was good in the eyes of the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

¹¹ God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, and have not asked for yourself riches, and have not asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice—

¹² look, I have done according to your words. Look, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been none like you before you, and after you none will arise like you.

¹³ And also what you have not asked I have given you—both riches and honor—so that there will be no one among the kings like you all your days.

¹⁴ And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David your father walked, then I will lengthen your days."

¹⁵ Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶ Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

¹⁷ The one woman said, "Please, my lord! I and this woman live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house.

¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house.

¹⁹ This woman's son died in the night because she lay on him.

²⁰ She arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not my son whom I had borne."

²² The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son and the dead one is your son." But the first said, "No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son." So they spoke before the king.

²³ Then the king said, "This one says, 'This is my son, the living one, and your son is the dead one,' and this one says, 'No! Your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.'"

²⁴ The king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other."

²⁶ Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, for her compassion was stirred for her son. She said, "Please, my lord! Give her the living child and by no means kill him!" But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours—divide him!"

²⁷ Then the king answered and said, "Give her the living child and by no means kill him. She is his mother."

²⁸ All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.