12 ^kSo Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

23 ^qThen Solomon sat on the ^rthrone of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 And the Lord made Solomon very ^sgreat in the sight of all Israel and ^tbestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 ^aSolomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, ^band the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

Solomon’s Reign Established

13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, ^l“Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” 15 He said, “You know that ^mthe kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, ⁿfor it was his from the Lord. 16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” 17 And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me ^oAbishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.”

19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, ^pand she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 She said, “Let ^oAbishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask ^oAbishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, ^qfor he is my older brother, and on his side ^rare Abiathar¹ the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, ^s“God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24 Now therefore ^tas the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, ^uas he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon sent ^vBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.

26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to ^wAnathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, ^xbecause you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, ^yand because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” 27 ^zSo Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling ^athe word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab ^bhad supported Adonijah although ^che had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the ^dhorns of the altar. 29 And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king replied to him, ^e“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, ^fand thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32 The Lord will ^gbring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men ^hmore righteous and better than himself, ⁱAbner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^jAmasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 ^gSo shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 ^kThe king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put ^lZadok the priest ^min the place of Abiathar.

36 Then the king sent and summoned ⁿShimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37 For on the day you go out and cross ^othe brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. ^pYour blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

1 ^vSolomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into ^wthe city of David until he had finished ^xbuilding his own house ^yand the house of the Lord ^zand the wall around Jerusalem.

16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed ^fthe Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to ^ghis daughter, Solomon’s wife;

2 ^aThe people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

3 Solomon ^bloved the Lord, ^cwalking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, ^dfor that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 ^eAt Gibeon ^fthe Lord appeared to Solomon ^gin a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because ^hhe walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and ⁱhave given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, ^jyou have made your servant king in place of David my father, ^kalthough I am but a little child. I do not know ^lhow to go out or come in. 8 ^mAnd your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, ⁿtoo many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 ^oGive your servant therefore an understanding mind ^pto govern your people, that I may ^qdiscern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, ^rI now do according to your word. Behold, ^sI give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 ^tI give you also what you have not asked, ^uboth riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, ^vas your father David walked, then ^wI will lengthen your days.”

15 And Solomon ^xawoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the ^ccommanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses. 3 And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ^dthe high place that was at Gibeon, ^efor ^fthe tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. 4 ^g(But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) 5 Moreover, ^hthe bronze altar that ⁱBezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly ^jsought it¹ out. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, ^kand offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

7 ^lIn that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” 8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, ^mand have made me king in his place. 9 O Lord God, ⁿlet your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous ^oas the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to ^pgo out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” 11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for ^qpossessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you ^qriches, possessions, and honor, ^rsuch as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” 13 So Solomon came from² the ^shigh place at Gibeon, from before ^tthe tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Wisdom

16 Then two prostitutes came to the king ^yand stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought 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 the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because ^zher heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that ^athe wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

Solomon’s Officials

1 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was ^bthe priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; ^cJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 ^dBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; ^eZadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over ^fthe officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and ^gking’s friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and ^hAdoniram the son of Abda was in charge of ⁱthe forced labor.

7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in ^jthe hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all ^kNaphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in ^lTaanach, Megiddo, and all ^lBeth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, ^min Ramoth-gilead (he had ⁿthe villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had ^othe region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 ^pShimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, ^qthe country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.