1 Kings 3

1 When the kingdom was firmly in Solomon’s hand, Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem all around. [a] 2 Only, the people were burning incense on the high places, because up to that time no house had been built for the name of the Lord.

3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the decrees of David his father; only, he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 He set out and went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the highest place, and great. Solomon offered a thousand whole burnt offerings on the altar at Gibeon. [b]

5 And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream in the night, and the Lord said to Solomon, “Ask something for yourself.”

6 And Solomon said, “You dealt in great mercy with your servant David my father, as he walked before you in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept this great mercy for him, to set his son on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, Lord my God, you have set your servant in the place of David my father — and I am a little child, and I do not know how to go out or how to come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people, the people you chose, a great people that cannot be counted. 9 So give your servant a heart to hear, and to judge your people in righteousness, and to understand the difference between good and evil. For who will be able to judge this weighty people of yours?” [c]

10 And it was pleasing before the Lord that Solomon asked this thing, 11 and the Lord said to him, “Because you asked this of me, and did not ask long life for yourself, and did not ask for wealth, and did not ask for the lives of your enemies, but asked understanding for yourself, to hear a case — [d] 12 I have done as you said. See, I have given you a heart that is discerning and wise. There has been no one like you before you, and after you no one like you will arise. [e] 13 And what you did not ask I have given you as well, wealth and glory, so that there has been no man among kings like you. 14 And if you walk in my way, keeping my commands and my decrees, as David your father walked, then I will multiply your days.”

15 And Solomon woke up — and it had been a dream. He got up and came to Jerusalem, and stood before the altar that was in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord in Zion, and he offered whole burnt offerings and made peaceable offerings, and he made a great drinking feast for himself and for all his servants. [f]

16 Then two prostitutes appeared before the king, and they stood in front of him. 17 And the one woman said, “Please, my lord. This woman and I live in one house, and we both gave birth in the house. 18 On the third day after I gave birth, this woman gave birth too. We were together; no one else was with us in the house, only the two of us. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my arms and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 And I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, it was not my son, the one I bore.”

22 And the other woman said, “No — the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” So they spoke before the king. 23 And the king said to them, “You say, ‘This is my son, the living one, and this woman’s son is the dead one’; and you say, ‘No — the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.’”

24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” And they brought the sword before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child, the nursing one, in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

26 And the woman whose son was the living one answered the king — for she was stirred to the depths over her son — and she said, “Please, my lord, give her the child, and do not put him to death!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor hers. Divide him.” [g]

27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the child to the woman who said, ‘Give him to her, and do not put him to death.’ She is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard this case that the king had judged, and they were afraid before the king, because they saw that the discernment of God was in him, to do what is due. [h]