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¹ AND Solomon became the son-in-law to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaohs daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about.² The people sacrificed only in high places, because there was no house yet built to the name of the LORD, until those days.³ And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father; only he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.⁴ And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon the altar which was in Gibeon.

⁵ Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in a vision by night; and God said to him, Ask that which I should give you.⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast shown to thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth and in faithfulness 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 God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father; and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in among thy people, whom thou hast chosen,⁸ A great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.⁹ Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people and to discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?¹⁰ And it pleased the LORD because Solomon had asked this thing.¹¹ And the LORD said to Solomon, Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself riches, neither have you asked the lives of your enemies nor have you asked for yourself long life, but have asked for yourself wisdom to discern judgment;¹² Behold, I have done according to your words; lo, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has been none like you before you, neither shall any arise after you like you.¹³ And I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you all your days.¹⁴ And if you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, 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 offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶ Then came there two women who were harlots to plead before King Solomon.¹⁷ And one of them said, I beseech you, O my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.¹⁸ And on the third day after I was delivered, this woman was delivered also; and we were together in the house; there was no stranger with us, only we two in the house.¹⁹ And this womans child died in the night because she lay on it.²⁰ And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.²¹ And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, it was dead; but when I had examined it in the morning, behold, it was not my son which I had borne.²² And the other woman said, It is not so; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. And this one said, It is not so; the dead is your son, and the living is my son.²³ And the other woman said, It is not so, the living is my son and the dead is your son. Thus they argued before the king.²⁴ Then 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 the woman whose child was alive said to the king, because her affections yearned for her son, I beseech you, O my lord, give her the child alive, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor yours, but divide it in two.²⁷ Then the king answered and said, Give the child alive to the first woman 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 wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.