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Solomon Asks for Wisdom

¹ Solomon son of David took firm control of his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him very powerful.

² Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel—the generals and captains of the army,^[a] the judges, and all the political and clan leaders. ³ Then he led the entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for God's Tabernacle^[b] was located there. (This was the Tabernacle that Moses, the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness.)

⁴ David had already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was there^[c] at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the Lord.^{[d] 6} There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord's presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it.

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!"

⁸ Solomon replied to God, "You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place. ⁹ O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! ¹⁰ Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly,^[e] for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?"

¹¹ God said to Solomon, "Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people— ¹² I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!"

¹³ Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the Tabernacle at the place of worship in Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴ Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses.^[f] He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.^{[g] 16} Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt^[h] and from Cilicia^[i]; the king's traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price. ¹⁷ At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver,^[j] and horses for 150 pieces of silver.^[k] They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.