1 Kings 3

1Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and 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 Yahweh, and the wall around Jerusalem.

2Only the people were sacrificing at the high places, because no house had yet been built for the name of Yahweh in those days.

3Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father; only, he was sacrificing and burning incense at the high places.

4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

5At Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream at night, and God said, “Ask what I should give you.”

6And Solomon said, “You have shown great covenant faithfulness to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great covenant faithfulness and have given him a son sitting on his throne, as it is this day.”

7And now, O Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, though I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

8And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be counted or numbered.

9So give your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil, for who is able to judge this great people of yours?

10And the matter was good in the eyes of the Lord, because Solomon had asked this thing.

11And God said to him, “Because you have asked for this thing, and have not asked for yourself many days, nor have asked for yourself riches, nor have asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to hear justice,”

12Behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, such that no one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you.

13And I have also given you what you did not ask for, both riches and honor, so that there has been no man like you among the kings all your days.

14And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David your father walked, then I will lengthen your days.

15Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

16Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

17Then one woman said, “Please, my lord, I and this woman live in one house, and I gave birth while she was in the house with me.

18And on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house.

19And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him.

20She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant was sleeping, and she laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

21When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead. But when I looked closely at him in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.

22But the other woman said, “No! My son is the living one, and your son is the dead one.” And this one said, “No! Your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.” So they spoke before the king.

23Then the king said, “This one says, ‘This is my son, the living one, and your son is the dead one,’ and this one says, ‘No, for your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword before the king.

25Then the king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

26Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her compassion was stirred for her son, and she said, "Please, my lord, give her the living child, and do not put him to death." But the other said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him in two."

27Then the king answered and said, “Give her the living child, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.”

28And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they feared the king, because they saw that the wisdom of God was within him to administer justice.