the Fourth Week of Advent
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
1 Kings 4
1 And so it came to pass, that, King Solomon, was king, over all Israel.2 Now, these, were his chief officers of state, - Azariah son of Zadok, the priest;3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes, - Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, the recorder;4 And Benaiah son of Jehoiada, over the army, - and Zadok and Abiathar priests;5 And Azariah son of Nathan, over the governors, - and Zabud son of Nathan, minister, king's friend;6 And Ahishar, over the household, - and Adoniram son of Abda, over the tribute.7 And, Solomon, had twelve governors over all Israel, who used to sustain the king and his household, - for a month in the year, was it appointed unto each one, to find sustenance.8 And, these, are their names, Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;9 Ben-deker, in Makaz and in Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh, - and Elon-beth-hanan;10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, - to him, pertaineth Socoh, and all the land of Hepher;11 Ben-abinadab, all the height of Dor, - Taphath daughter of Solomon, had he to wife;12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, and Megiddo, - and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean as far as Abel-meholah, as far as over against Jokmeam;13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, - to him, belonged the towns of Jair, son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, his, was the region of Argob which is in Bashan, sixty great cities, with walls and with bars of bronze;14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, towards Mahanaim;15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali, - moreover, he, took Basemath daughter of Solomon, to wife;16 Banna son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth;17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, - the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, being, the one governor, that was in the land.
20 Judah and Israel, were many, as the sand that is by the sea, for multitude, - eating and drinking, and rejoicing.21 And, Solomon, became ruler over all the kingdoms, from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and as far as the boundary of Egypt, - and these were bringing presents, and serving Solomon, all the days of his life.22 And it came to pass, that Solomon's provision for one day was, - thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal;23 ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, - besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl.24 For, he, had dominion over all on this side the River, from Tiphsah even as far as Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River, - and he had, peace, on all sides of him, round about.25 And Judah and Israel dwelt securely, every man under his own vine, and under his own fig-tree, from Dan even unto Beer-sheba, - all the days of Solomon.26 And it came to pass that, Solomon, had forty thousand stalls of horses, for his chariots, - and twelve thousand horsemen.27 And these governors provided sustenance for King Solomon, and for all that drew near unto the table of King Solomon, every man in his month, - they let, nought, be lacking.28 Barley also and crushed straw, for the horses and for the swift beasts, brought they in unto the place where it should be, every man according to his charge.
29 And God gave wisdom unto Solomon, and discernment, and very great largeness of heart, - like the sand that is on the shore of the sea:30 so that, the wisdom of Solomon, excelled, the wisdom of all the sons of the East, - and all the wisdom of the Egyptians,31 so that he was wiser than any man - than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Calcol and Darda, sons of Mahol, - and it came to pass that, his name, was throughout all the nations round about.32 And he spake three thousand proverbs, - and it came to pass that, his songs, were a thousand and five.33 And he discoursed of trees - from the cedar that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop, that springeth out in the wall, - and he discoursed of beasts and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes.34 And there came in, of all the peoples, to hear the wisdom of Solomon - of all the kings of the earth, who heard his wisdom.