1 KingsChapter 3

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¹Later, Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He did it by marrying Pharaoh's daughter. Solomon brought her to live in the City of David. She stayed there until he finished building his palace, the house of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. ²But the people were still offering sacrifices at the high places. That's because a house for the Name of the LORD had not been built yet. ³Solomon loved the LORD. He followed the rules his father David had lived by. But he still offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. ⁴The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices there. It was the most important high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there. ⁵One night at Gibeon, the LORD came to Solomon in a dream. God said, "Ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you!" ⁶Solomon answered, "You showed great faithful love to your servant, my father David. That's because he lived for you. He was faithful, he did what was right, and his heart was honest. And you have kept on showing him this faithful love. You gave him a son to sit on his throne today. ⁷Now, LORD my God, you have made me, your servant, king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child. I don't know how to lead.a ⁸Your servant is here among the people you have chosen. There are so many of them that no one can count them. ⁹So give your servant a heart that understands. Then I can judge your people. I can tell the difference between good and evil. For who is able to rule this great people of yours?" ¹⁰The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹So God said to him, "You did not ask to live a long life. You did not ask to be rich. You did not ask for your enemies to die. Instead, you asked for wisdom to judge fairly. ¹²So I will do what you asked. I will give you a heart that is wise and understanding. There has never been anyone like you, and there never will be. ¹³I will also give you what you didn't ask for. I will give you both riches and honor. As long as you live, no other king in any kingdom will be equal to you. ¹⁴And if you walk in my ways and keep my rules and commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life." ¹⁵Then Solomon woke up. He realized it had been a dream. He went back to Jerusalem and stood in front of the ark of the Lord's covenant. There he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his servants. ¹⁶Around that time, two prostitutes came to the king. They stood in front of him. ¹⁷One of the women said, "Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. ¹⁸Three days after my baby was born, this woman had a baby too. We were alone. No one else was in the house but the two of us. ¹⁹During the night, this woman's son died. She had rolled over on top of him. ²⁰So she got up in the middle of the night. She took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She held him close to her. Then she put her dead son next to me. ²¹In the morning I got up to feed my son. But I found that he was dead! Then I looked at him closely. I saw that he was not the son I had given birth to." ²²"No!" said the other woman. "The living one is my son. The dead one is yours." But the first woman kept saying, "No! The dead one is yours. The living one is mine." And so they argued in front of the king. ²³Then the king said, "This woman says, 'My son is alive, and your son is dead.' And that woman says, 'No! Your son is dead, and mine is alive.'" ²⁴Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought him a sword. ²⁵Then the king gave an order. "Cut the living child in two. Give half to one woman and half to the other." ²⁶The real mother of the living boy was full of love for her son. So she spoke to the king. "Please, my lord," she said, "give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other woman said, "He won't be mine or yours. Cut him in two!" ²⁷Then the king gave his decision. "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him! She is his mother." ²⁸All Israel heard about the king's decision. They were filled with awe and respect for him. They saw that God had given him wisdom to judge fairly.