Chapter 3

Solomon loves the Lord and keeps His commandments—The Lord appears to Solomon and promises him a wise and an understanding heart—He judges between two harlots and determines who is the mother of a child.

 1 And Solomon made aaffinity with bPharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the ccity of David, until he had made an end of building his own dhouse, and the house of the Lord, and the ewall of Jerusalem round about.

 2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no ahouse built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.

 3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the astatutes of David his father: only he bsacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

 4 And the king went to aGibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great bhigh place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

 5 ¶In aGibeon the Lord bappeared to Solomon in a cdream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

 7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a alittle child: I know not how to go out or come in.

 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a agreat people, that cannot be bnumbered nor counted for multitude.

 9 Give therefore thy servant an aunderstanding bheart to judge thy people, that I may cdiscern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

 10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

 11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked ariches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine benemies; but hast asked for thyself cunderstanding to discern judgment;

 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have agiven thee a bwise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both ariches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my acommandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

 15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the aark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace bofferings, and made a feast to all his servants.

 16 ¶Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

 17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

 18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.

 19 And this woman’s child died in the night; because she aoverlaid it.

 20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

 22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

 23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

 24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

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

 26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

 27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the awisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.