1 Kings 4; Psalm 72; Psalm 127

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1 Kings 4

Solomon’s Officials

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

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. These were their names: Ben-hur, in jthe hill country of Ephraim; 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.

Solomon’s Wealth and Wisdom

20 Judah and Israel were as many ras the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. 1 21 sSolomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the tEuphrates2 to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. uThey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors3 of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates4 from Tiphsah to vGaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. wAnd he had peace on all sides around him. 25 And Judah and Israel xlived in safety, yfrom Dan even to Beersheba, zevery man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 26 aSolomon also had 40,0005 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and bswift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

29 cAnd God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind dlike the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ethe people of the east fand all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was cwiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 gHe also spoke 3,000 proverbs, hand his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from iall the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.


Psalm 72

Give the King Your Justice

Of qSolomon.

Give the king your rjustice, O God,

and your righteousness to the royal son!

May he sjudge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice!

Let the mountains bear tprosperity for the people,

and the hills, in righteousness!

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the oppressor!

May they fear you1 while uthe sun endures,

and as long as the moon, vthroughout all generations!

May he be like wrain that falls on xthe mown grass,

like yshowers that water the earth!

In his days may zthe righteous flourish,

and apeace abound, till the moon be no more!

May he have dominion from bsea to sea,

and from bthe River2 to the cends of the earth!

May desert tribes dbow down before him,

and his enemies elick the dust!

10  May the kings of fTarshish and of gthe coastlands

render him htribute;

may the kings of iSheba and jSeba

bring gifts!

11  May all kings kfall down before him,

all nations serve him!

12  For he delivers lthe needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

13  He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

14  From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and mprecious is their blood in his sight.

15  Long may he live;

may ngold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made ofor him continually,

and blessings invoked for him all the day!

16  May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people pblossom in the cities

like the qgrass of the field!

17  rMay his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun!

sMay people be blessed in him,

tall nations call him blessed!

18  uBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does vwondrous things.

19  Blessed be his wglorious name forever;

may xthe whole earth be filled with his glory!

yAmen and Amen!

20  zThe prayers of aDavid, the son of Jesse, are ended.


Psalm 127

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of mAscents. Of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord xwatches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious ytoil;

for he gives to his zbeloved asleep.

Behold, bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

cthe fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of da warrior

are the children1 of one’s youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies ein the gate.2