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And king Solomon was king over all Israel. And these were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [a]scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the [b]recorder; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was [c]chief minister, and the king’s friend; and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to taskwork.

And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and his household: each man had to make provision for a month in the year. And these are their names: Ben-hur, in the hill-country of Ephraim; Ben-deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him pertained Socoh, and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all [d]the [e]height of Dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as [f]beyond Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him pertained [g]the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; even to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon to wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and [h]Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; [i]and he was the only officer that was in the land.

20 Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. 21 And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty [j]measures of fine flour, and threescore 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 the region [k]on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings [l]on this side the River: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 And Solomon had [m]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they unto the place [n]where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations round about. 32 And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. 33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spake also of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:3 Or, secretaries
  2. 1 Kings 4:3 Or, chronicler
  3. 1 Kings 4:5 Or, priest. See 2 Sam. 8:18.
  4. 1 Kings 4:11 Or, Naphath-dor
  5. 1 Kings 4:11 Or, region
  6. 1 Kings 4:12 Or, over against
  7. 1 Kings 4:13 Or, Havvoth-jair
  8. 1 Kings 4:16 Or, in Aloth
  9. 1 Kings 4:19 Hebrew and one officer.
  10. 1 Kings 4:22 Hebrew cor.
  11. 1 Kings 4:24 Or, beyond the River
  12. 1 Kings 4:24 Or, beyond the River
  13. 1 Kings 4:26 In 2 Chr. 9:25, four thousand.
  14. 1 Kings 4:28 Or, where he (that is, the king) was. Or, where it should be

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. And these were his chief officials:(A)

Azariah(B) son of Zadok—the priest;

Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;(C)

Jehoshaphat(D) son of Ahilud—recorder;

Benaiah(E) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;

Zadok(F) and Abiathar—priests;

Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;

Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;

Ahishar—palace administrator;(G)

Adoniram(H) son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.(I)

Solomon had twelve district governors(J) over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. These are their names:

Ben-Hur—in the hill country(K) of Ephraim;

Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(L) Beth Shemesh(M) and Elon Bethhanan;

10 Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh(N) and all the land of Hepher(O) were his);

11 Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor(P) (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);

12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(Q) next to Zarethan(R) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(S) across to Jokmeam;(T)

13 Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair(U) son of Manasseh in Gilead(V) were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities(W) with bronze gate bars);

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;(X)

15 Ahimaaz(Y)—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);

16 Baana son of Hushai(Z)—in Asher and in Aloth;

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

18 Shimei(AA) son of Ela—in Benjamin;

19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(AB) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(AC) king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

Solomon’s Daily Provisions

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand(AD) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(AE) 21 And Solomon ruled(AF) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(AG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(AH) These countries brought tribute(AI) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

22 Solomon’s daily provisions(AJ) were thirty cors[a] of the finest flour and sixty cors[b] of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.(AK) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(AL) to Gaza, and had peace(AM) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(AN) lived in safety,(AO) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(AP)

26 Solomon had four[c] thousand stalls for chariot horses,(AQ) and twelve thousand horses.[d]

27 The district governors,(AR) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon wisdom(AS) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(AT) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(AU) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(AV) 31 He was wiser(AW) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs(AX) and his songs(AY) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(AZ) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings(BA) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons
  2. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty
  4. 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers
  5. 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.