1 Kings · Brenton's English Septuagint
1 Kings 4 Brenton's English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (2)
- Square brackets mark words Brenton supplied for English sense.
- Old Testament only (no New Testament). First printed 1844; the 1851 edition added the deuterocanonical books.
1 And king Solomon reigned over Israel.
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel.
2 And these [are] the princes which he had; Azarias son of Sadoc.
2 These were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;
3 Eliaph, and Achia son of Seba, scribes; and Josaphat son of Achilud, recorder.
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;
4 And Banæas son of Jodae over the host; and Sadoc and Abiathar [were] priests.
4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
5 And Ornia the son of Nathan [was] over the officers; and Zabuth son of Nathan [was] the king's friend.
5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king’s friend;
6 And Achisar was steward, and Eliac the [chief] steward; and Eliab the son of Saph [was] over the family: and Adoniram the son of Audon over the tribute.
6 Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, to provide for the king and his household; each one's turn came to supply for a month in the year.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month in the year.
8 And these [were] their names: Been the son of Or in the mount of Ephraim, one.
8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 The son of Dacar, in Makes, and in Salabin, and Bæthsamys, and Elon as far as Bethanan, one.
9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, in Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
10 The son of Esdi in Araboth; his [was] Socho, and all the land of Opher.
10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);
11 All Nephthador [belonged to] the son of Aminadab, Tephath daughter of Solomon was his wife, one.
11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as wife);
12 Bana son of Achiluth [had] Ithaanach, and Mageddo, and [his was] the whole house of San which was by Sesathan below Esrae, and from Bethsan as far as Sabelmaula, as far as Maëber Lucam, one.
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 beyond Jokmeam;
13 The son of Naber in Raboth Galaad, to him [fell] the lot of Ergab in Basan, sixty great cities with walls, and brazen bars, one.
13 Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, belonged to him; and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars, belonged to him);
14 Achinadab son of Saddo, [had] Maanaim.
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Achimaas [was] in Nephthalim, and he took Basemmath daughter of Solomon to wife, one.
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife);
16 Baana son of Chusi, in Aser and in Baaloth, one,
16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Semei son of Ela, in Benjamin.
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Gaber son of Adai in the land of Gad, [the land] of Seon king of Esebon, and of Og king of Basan, and one officer in the land of Juda.
18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Josaphat son of Phuasud [was] in Issachar.
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; and he was the only officer who was in the land. 20 Judah and Israel were numerous as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, sixty measures of meal, 23 ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all on this side of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on all sides around him. 25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 Those officers provided food for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, every man in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, each man according to his duty. 29 God gave Solomon abundant wisdom, understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand that is on the seashore. 30 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—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations all around. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand five. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 People of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Adoniram
Son of Abda, in charge of the forced labor, who oversaw the monthly shifts of 30,000 sent to Lebanon.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:14
Baana
Son of Ahilud, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Taanach, Megiddo and Beth-shean.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:12
Baana
Son of Hushai, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Asher and Aloth.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:16
Ela
Named as the father of Shimei, Solomon's governor in Benjamin.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:18
Solomon
David's son who built the temple and became famous for God-given wisdom.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 1-11; 1 Chron. 3:5; Matt. 1:6-7
Cross references (19)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Chronicles 9:30; 1 Kings 12:19–20; 1 Chronicles 12:38; Ecclesiastes 1:12; 1 Kings 11:35–36
- 2 1 Corinthians 12:28; Exodus 18:21; 2 Samuel 20:23–26; 2 Samuel 8:15–18; 1 Chronicles 6:8–10
- 3 2 Samuel 8:16; Isaiah 62:6; 1 Chronicles 18:15; 1 Chronicles 18:6; 2 Samuel 20:24–25
- 4 1 Kings 2:35; 1 Kings 2:26–27
- 5 2 Samuel 15:37; 1 Chronicles 27:33; 2 Samuel 16:16; John 15:14–15; 2 Samuel 12:25
- 6 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 12:18; 1 Kings 9:15; 1 Kings 5:13–14
- 7 1 Chronicles 27:1–15
- 8 Joshua 24:33; Judges 19:1; Judges 17:1
- 9 Joshua 19:42; 1 Samuel 6:12; Judges 1:35; Joshua 21:16; 1 Samuel 6:20
- 10 Joshua 12:17; Joshua 15:35; Joshua 17:2
- 11 Joshua 11:2; Joshua 17:11; Joshua 12:23; Judges 1:27
- 12 Joshua 17:11; Joshua 3:16; 1 Kings 19:16; Judges 5:19; 1 Kings 7:46
- 13 Deuteronomy 3:4; Numbers 32:41; 1 Kings 22:3; 2 Kings 9:14; Deuteronomy 4:43
- 14 Genesis 32:2; 2 Samuel 2:8; Joshua 13:26; 2 Samuel 17:24; 2 Samuel 17:27
- 15 1 Samuel 18:18; Joshua 19:32–39; 2 Samuel 15:27; 1 Kings 4:11
- 16 Joshua 19:24–31; 2 Samuel 15:32
- 17 Joshua 19:17–23
- 18 1 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 12:13; Joshua 18:20–28
- 19 Deuteronomy 2:26–3:17; Joshua 13:9–12; Numbers 21:21–35
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… cannot contain, really dwell with men upon the earth?" And he pleased God, and was the admiration of all; and all kings of the earth sought an interview with him (quærebant faciem ejus) that they might hear the wisdom which God had conferred upon him. The queen of the south, too, came to him from the ends of the earth, …