11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take(A) your sons and make them serve(B) with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.(C) 12 Some he will assign to be commanders(D) of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your(E) fields and vineyards(F) and olive groves and give them to his attendants.(G) 15 He will take a tenth(H) of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[a] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer(I) you in that day.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 8:16 Septuagint; Hebrew young men

Solomon’s Daily Provisions

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

22 Solomon’s daily provisions(G) 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.(H) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(I) to Gaza, and had peace(J) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(K) lived in safety,(L) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(M)

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

27 The district governors,(O) 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.

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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

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