King James Version

1 And Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem all around. 2 Only the people were sacrificing at the high places, for a house had not been built for the name of the Lord until those days. 3 And Solomon loved the LORD, to walk in the statutes of his father David; only he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings Solomon would offer on that altar. 5 In Gibeon, the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." 6 And Solomon said, "You have shown great kindness to your servant David my father, as he walked before you in truth and righteousness and with an upright heart with you, and you have kept for him this great kindness and have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day." 7 And now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father, and I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is within your people that you have chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered and cannot be counted because of its multitude. 9 And you shall give to your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to understand between good and bad, for who is able to judge this great people of yours? 10 And the matter was good in the eyes of the Lord, because Solomon asked for this matter. 11 And God said to me, "Because you asked for this thing and did not ask for yourself many days, nor did you ask for wealth, nor did you ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment." 12 Behold, I have made you according to your words; behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, such as has not been before you and will not arise after you. 13 And also what you did not ask, I have given to you, both wealth and honor, such as no king has had before you all your days. 14 And if you walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments as David your father walked, then I will lengthen your days. 15 And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings and he made a feast for all his servants. 16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the woman said, "I am one of my lord's women, and this woman is dwelling in one house, and I give birth with her in the house." 18 And it was on the third day of my giving birth, and this woman also gave birth; and we are together, there is no stranger with us in this house besides the two of us in the house. 19 And the son of the woman died that night that she lay on me. 20 And you rose in the middle of the night and took your son from beside your maidservant who was sleeping, and you laid him in her bosom, and you placed your dead daughter in my bosom. 21 And I rose in the morning to nurse my son, and behold, he was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, my son, whom I had born, was not there. 22 And the other woman said, "No, for my son is the living one and your son is the dead one." And this one said, "No, for your son is the dead one and my son is the living one." And they spoke before the king. 23 And the king said, "This one says, 'This is my son who is alive,' and your son is dead; and this one says, 'No, for your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'" 24 And the king said, "Bring me a sword." And they brought the sword before the king. 25 And the king said, "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." 26 And the woman whose son was alive said to the king, for her compassion was stirred for her son, and she said, "Please, my lord, give her the live child and do not kill him; and this is what I say to you, there will be no harm to me or to you." 27 And the king answered and said, "Give her the living child, and do not kill him; she is his mother." 28 And all Israel heard the judgment that the king had judged, and they feared before the king because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.