1 Kings 3:16

Wycliffe Bible

Thanne twei wymmen hooris camen to the kyng, and stoden bifor hym;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Hebrew Names Version
Then there came two women who were prostitutes, to the king, and stood before him.

King James Version
Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

English Standard Version
Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

New Century Version
One day two women who were prostitutes came to Solomon. As they stood before him,

New English Translation
Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Amplified Bible
Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

New American Standard Bible
Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then came two harlots vnto the King, and stoode before him.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.

Contemporary English Version
One day two women came to King Solomon,

Complete Jewish Bible
After this, there came to the king two women who were prostitutes. After presenting themselves to him,

Darby Translation
Then came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him.

Easy-to-Read Version
One day two prostitutes came to Solomon and stood before the king.

George Lamsa Translation
Then came there two women who were harlots to plead before King Solomon.

Good News Translation
One day two prostitutes came and presented themselves before King Solomon.

Lexham English Bible
Then two prostitutes came to the king, and they stood before him.

Literal Translation
Then two women, harlots, came in to the king and stood before him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
At the same tyme came there two harlottes vnto ye kynge, and stode before him.

American Standard Version
Then there came two women that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

Bible in Basic English
Then two loose women of the town came and took their places before the king;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then came there two women that were harlottes, vnto the king, & stoode before him.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

King James Version (1611)
Then came there two women that were harlots, vnto the king, and stood before him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Then there appeared two harlots before the king, and they stood before him.

English Revised Version
Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

Berean Standard Bible
At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Young's Literal Translation
then come in do two women, harlots, unto the king, and stand before him,

Update Bible Version
Then there came two women that were prostitutes, to the king, and stood before him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then came there two women, [that were] harlots, to the king, and stood before him.

World English Bible
Then there came two women who were prostitutes, to the king, and stood before him.

New King James Version
Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.

New Living Translation
Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled.

New Life Bible
Then two women who sold the use of their bodies came to the king and stood in front of him.

New Revised Standard
Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then, came there in two unchaste women, unto the king, - and stood before him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then there came two women that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him.

Revised Standard Version
Then two harlots came to the king, and stood before him.

THE MESSAGE
The very next thing, two prostitutes showed up before the king. The one woman said, "My master, this woman and I live in the same house. While we were living together, I had a baby. Three days after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone—there wasn't anyone else in the house except for the two of us. The infant son of this woman died one night when she rolled over on him in her sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son—I was sound asleep, mind you!—and put him at her breast and put her dead son at my breast. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, here was this dead baby! But when I looked at him in the morning light, I saw immediately that he wasn't my baby."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.

Contextual Overview

¹⁶ Thanne twei wymmen hooris camen to the kyng, and stoden bifor hym; ¹⁷ of whiche oon seide, My lord, Y biseche, Y and this womman dwelliden in oon hows, and Y childide at hir in a couche. ¹⁸ Sotheli in the thridde dai aftir that Y childide, also this womman childide; and we weren togidere in the hows, and noon other was with vs in the hows, outakun vs tweyne. ¹⁹ Forsothe the sone of this womman was deed in the nyyt, for sche slepte, and oppresside hym; ²⁰ and sche roos in the fourthe part of the nyyt in silence, and took my sone fro the side of me, thin handmaide slepynge, and settide in hir bosum; forsothe sche puttide in my bosum hir sone, that was deed. ²¹ And whanne Y hadde ryse eerli, to yyue mylk to my sone, he apperide deed; whom Y bihelde diligentlier bi cleer liyt, and Y perseyuede, that he was not myn, whom Y hadde gendrid. ²² The tother womman answeride, It is not so as thou seist, but thi sone is deed; forsothe `my sone lyueth. Ayenward sche seide, Thou liest; for my sone lyueth, and thi sone is deed. And bi this maner thei stryueden bifore the kyng. ²³ Thanne the kyng seide, This womman seith, My sone lyueth, and thi sone is deed; and this womman answerith, Nay, but thi sone is deed; forsothe my sone lyueth. ²⁴ Therfor the kyng seide, Brynge ye to me a swerd. And whanne thei hadden brouyt a swerd bifor the kyng, ²⁵ he seide, Departe ye the quyk yong child in to twei partis, and yyue ye the half part to oon, and the half part to the tother.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

two women: Leviticus 19:29, Deuteronomy 23:17, Joshua 2:1

harlots: The word zanoth, rendered harlots, is here translated by the Targumist, the best judge in this case, pundekon, "tavern-keepers." See note on Joshua 2:1, and see note on Judges 11:1. Had these women been harlots, it is not likely that they would have dared to appear before Solomon; nor is it likely that such persons would have been permitted in the reign of David. Their husbands might at this time have been following their necessary occupations in distant parts.

stood: Exodus 18:13, Exodus 18:16, Numbers 27:2

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:26 - the hard causes Deuteronomy 17:8 - arise 2 Samuel 15:2 - came 2 Chronicles 32:4 - find Job 9:33 - that might Job 29:16 - the cause

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
But and the serpent was feller than alle lyuynge beestis of erthe, whiche the Lord God hadde maad. Which serpent seide to the womman, Why comaundide God to you, that ye schulden not ete of ech tre of paradis?

Genesis 3:6
Therfore the womman seiy that the tre was good, and swete to ete, and fair to the iyen, and delitable in bi holdyng; and sche took of the fruyt therof, and eet, and yaf to hir hosebande, and he eet.

Genesis 3:7
And the iyen of bothe weren openid; and whanne thei knowen that thei weren nakid, thei sewden the leeues of a fige tre, and maden brechis to hem silf.

Genesis 3:8
And whanne thei herden the vois of the Lord God goynge in paradijs at the wynd after myddai, Adam and his wijf hidden hem fro the face of the Lord God in the middis of the tre of paradijs.

Genesis 3:9
And the Lord God clepide Adam, and seide to hym, Where art thou?

Genesis 3:10
And Adam seide, Y herde thi vois in paradijs, and Y drede, for Y was nakid, and Y hidde me.

Genesis 3:11
To whom the Lord seide, Who forsothe schewide to thee that thou were nakid, no but for thou hast ete of the tre of which Y comaundide to thee that thou schuldist not ete?

Genesis 3:12
And Adam seide, The womman which thou yauest felowe to me, yaf me of the tre, and Y eet.

Genesis 3:16
Also God seide to the womman, Y schal multiplie thi wretchidnessis and thi conseyuyngis; in sorewe thou schalt bere thi children; and thou schalt be vndur power of the hosebonde, and he schal be lord of thee.

Genesis 3:17
Sothely God seyde to Adam, For thou herdist the voys of thi wijf, and hast ete of the tree, of which Y comaundide to thee that thou schuldist not ete, the erthe schal be cursid in thi werk; in traueylis thou schalt ete therof in alle daies of thi lijf;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then came there two women [that] were harlots unto the king,.... The same day, as Abarbinel thinks, the night before which the Lord had appeared to Solomon; this came to pass through the providence of God, that there should be immediately an instance and proof of the wisdom and understanding the Lord had given to Solomon; these women, according to the Targum, were victuallers or inn keepers; and so Ben Gersom thinks they were sellers of food, as Rahab; though he observes it is possible they might, prostitute themselves: this may be said in their favour, that common prostitutes do not usually bear children, or, when they do, take no care of them, have no affection for them, and much less are fond of them, as these seem to be; but, on the other hand, no mention being made of their husbands, and living together in one house, and alone, and being impudent, brawling, and litigious, give great suspicion of the truth of the character they bear in our version and others:

and stood before him; to lay their case before him, and each plead their own cause; it may be, it had been tried in another court before, and could not be determined, and so was brought to the king; and, if so, the wisdom of Solomon was the more conspicuous, in deciding it in the manner he did.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 3:16. Then came there two women-harlots — The word זנות zonoth, which we here, and in some other places, improperly translate harlots, is by the Chaldee (the best judge in this case) rendered פונדקין pundekayan, tavern-keepers. (See on Joshua 2:1). If these had been harlots, it is not likely they would have dared to appear before Solomon; and if they had been common women, it is not likely they would have had children; nor is it likely that such persons would have been permitted under the reign of David. Though there is no mention of their husbands, it is probable they might have been at this time in other parts, following their necessary occupations; and the settling the present business could not have been delayed till their return; the appeal to justice must be made immediately.