1 Kings · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
1 Kings 3 Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Ezra and Nehemiah form one book (2 Esdras) in this edition; the reader shows them as Ezra 1–10 and Nehemiah 1–13.
2 Πλὴν ὁ λαὸς ἦσαν θυμιῶντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς, ὅτι οὐκ ᾠκοδομήθη οἶκος τῷ Κυρίῳ ἕως τοῦ νῦν.
1 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into David’s city until he had finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 However, the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was not yet a house built for Yahweh’s name.
3 Καὶ ἠγάπησε Σαλωμὼν τὸν Κύριον πορεύεσθαι ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασι Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, πλὴν ἐν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς ἔθυε καὶ ἐθυμία.
3 Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father, except that he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
4 Καὶ ἀνέστη καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς Γαβαὼν θῦσαι ἐκεῖ, ὅτι αὕτη ὑψηλοτάτη, καὶ μεγάλη· χιλίαν ὁλοκαύτωσιν ἀνήνεγκε Σαλωμὼν ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ἐν Γαβαών.
4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 Καὶ ὤφθη Κύριος τῷ Σαλωμὼν ἐν ὕπνῳ τὴν νύκτα, καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Σαλωμὼν, αἴτησαί τι αἴτημα σεαυτῷ.
5 In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask for what I should give you.”
6 Καὶ εἶπε Σαλωμὼν, σὺ ἐποιήσας μετὰ τοῦ δούλου σου Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρός μου ἔλεος μέγα, καθὼς διῆλθεν ἐνώπιόν σου ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, καὶ ἐν εὐθύτητι καρδίας μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ ἐφύλαξας αὐτῷ τὸ ἔλεος τὸ μέγα τοῦτο, δοῦναι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη.
6 Solomon said, “You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you. You have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
7 Καὶ νῦν, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, σὺ ἔδωκας τὸν δοῦλόν σου ἀντὶ Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρός μου· καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι παιδάριον μικρὸν, καὶ οὐκ οἶδα τὴν ἔξοδόν μου καὶ τὴν εἴσοδόν μου.
7 Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am just a little child. I don’t know how to go out or come in.
8 Ὁ δὲ δοῦλός σου ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ σου, ὃν ἐξελέξω, λαὸν πολὺν, ὃς οὐκ ἀριθμηθήσεται.
8 Your servant is among your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can’t be numbered or counted for multitude.
9 Καὶ δώσεις τῷ δούλῳ σου καρδίαν ἀκούειν καὶ διακρίνειν τὸν λαόν σου ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, καὶ τοῦ συνιεῖν ἀναμέσον ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ· ὅτι τίς δυνηθήσεται κρίνειν τὸν λαόν σου τὸν βαρὺν τοῦτον;
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this great people of yours?”
10 Καὶ ἤρεσεν ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, ὅτι ᾐτῄσατο Σαλωμὼν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο.
10 This request pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἀνθʼ ὧν ᾐτήσω παρʼ ἐμοῦ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο, καὶ οὐκ ᾐτήσω σεαυτῷ ἡμέρας πολλὰς, καὶ οὐκ ᾐτήσω πλοῦτον, οὐδὲ ᾐτήσω ψυχὰς ἐχθρῶν σου, ἀλλʼ ᾐτήσω σεαυτῷ τοῦ συνιεῖν τοῦ εἰσακούειν κρίμα,
11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have you asked for riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice,
12 ἰδοὺ πεποίηκα κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου· ἰδοὺ δέδωκά σοι καρδίαν φρονίμην καὶ σοφήν· ὡς σὺ οὐ γέγονεν ἔμπροσθέν σου, καὶ μετὰ σὲ οὐκ ἀναστήσεται ὅμοιός σοι.
12 behold, I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, and after you none will arise like you.
13 Καὶ ἃ οὐκ ᾐτήσω δέδωκά σοι, καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ δόξαν, ὡς οὐ γέγονεν ἀνὴρ ὅμοιός σοι ἐν βασιλεῦσι.
13 I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you for all your days.
14 Καὶ ἐὰν πορευθῇς ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ μου φυλάσσειν τὰς ἐντολάς μου καὶ τὰ προστάγματά μου, ὡς ἐπορεύθη Δαυὶδ ὁ πατήρ σου, καὶ πληθυνῶ τὰς ἡμέρας σου.
14 If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
15 Καὶ ἐξυπνίσθη Σαλωμὼν, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐνύπνιον· καὶ ἀνέστη καὶ παραγίνεται εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἔστη κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τοῦ κατὰ πρόσωπον κιβωτοῦ διαθήκης Κυρίου ἐν Σιὼν, καὶ ἀνήγαγεν ὁλοκαυτώσεις, καὶ ἐποίησεν εἰρηνικὰς, καὶ ἐποίησε πότον μέγαν ἑαυτῷ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ.
15 Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
16 Τότε ὤφθησαν δύο γυναῖκες πόρναι τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ἔστησαν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ.
16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king, and stood before him.
17 Καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ ἡ μία, ἐν ἐμοὶ κύριε, ἐγὼ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὕτη ᾠκοῦμεν ἐν οἴκῳ ἑνί, καὶ ἐτέκομεν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ.
17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house. I delivered a child with her in the house.
18 Καὶ ἐγενήθη ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ τεκούσης μου, ἔτεκε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὕτη· καὶ ἡμεῖς κατὰ τὸ αὐτό· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐθεὶς μεθʼ ἡμῶν πάρεξ ἀμφοτέρων ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ.
18 The third day after I delivered, this woman delivered also. We were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, just us two in the house.
19 Καὶ ἀπέθανεν ὁ υἱὸς τῆς γυναικὸς ταύτης τὴν νύκτα, ὡς ἐπεκοιμήθη ἐπʼ αὐτόν.
19 This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.
20 Καὶ ἀνέστη μέσης τῆς νυκτὸς, καὶ ἔλαβε τὸν υἱόν μου ἐκ τῶν ἀγκαλῶν μου, καὶ ἐκοίμισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτῆς, καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν τεθνηκότα ἐκοίμισεν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ μου.
20 She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21 Καὶ ἀνέστην τοπρωῒ θηλάσαι τὸν υἱόν μου, καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἦν τεθνηκώς· καὶ ἰδοὺ κατενόησα αὐτὸν πρωῒ, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἦν ὁ υἱός μου ὃν ἔτεκον.
21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”
22 Καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἑτέρα, οὐχί, ἀλλὰ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ζῶν, ὁ δὲ υἱός σου ὁ τεθνηκώς· καὶ ἐλάλησαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως.
22 The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.
23 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐταῖς, σὺ λέγεις, οὗτος ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ζῶν, καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ταύτης ὁ τεθνηκώς· καὶ σὺ λέγεις, οὐχί, ἀλλὰ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ζῶν, καὶ ὁ υἱός σου ὁ τεθνηκώς.
23 Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead one;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”
24 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς, λάβετε μάχαιραν· καὶ προσήνεγκαν τὴν μάχαιραν ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως.
24 The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.
25 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς, διέλετε τὸ παιδίον τὸ ζῶν τὸ θηλάζον εἰς δύο, καὶ δότε τὸ ἥμισυ αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ, καὶ τὸ ἥμισυ αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ.
25 The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”
26 Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ ἧς ἦν ὁ υἱὸς ὁ ζῶν, καὶ εἶπε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, ὅτι ἐταράχθη ἡ μήτρα αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τῷ υἱῷ αὐτῆς, καὶ εἶπεν, ἐν ἐμοὶ κύριε, δότε αὐτῇ τὸ παιδίον, καὶ θανάτῳ μὴ θανατώσητε αὐτό· καὶ αὕτη εἶπε, μήτε ἐμοὶ, μήτε αὐτῇ ἔστω, διέλετε.
26 Then the woman whose the living child was spoke to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill him!” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide him.”
27 Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ εἶπε, δότε τὸ παιδίον τῇ εἰπούσῃ, δότε αὐτῇ αὐτὸ, καὶ θανάτῳ μὴ θανατώσητε αὐτὸ, αὕτη ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ.
27 Then the king answered, “Give the first woman the living child, and definitely do not kill him. She is his mother.”
28 Καὶ ἤκουσαν πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ τὸ κρίμα τοῦτο ὃ ἔκρινεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ βασιλέως, ὅτι εἶδον ὅτι φρόνησις Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ τοῦ ποιεῖν δικαίωμα.
28 All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Pharaoh's daughter (wife of Solomon)
The daughter of Pharaoh king of Egypt, whom Solomon married to seal an alliance and for whom he built a house.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 7:8; 1 Kings 9:24
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 (20)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 1 Kings 22:43; 2 Chronicles 33:17; Deuteronomy 12:2–5; Leviticus 26:30; Acts 7:47–49
- 3 1 Corinthians 8:3; Psalm 31:23; Deuteronomy 30:16; Deuteronomy 6:5; 1 Kings 3:6
- 4 2 Chronicles 1:3; 1 Chronicles 16:39; 2 Chronicles 7:5; 2 Chronicles 1:6–12; 1 Chronicles 21:29
- 5 1 Kings 9:2; James 1:5–6; Numbers 12:6; 2 Chronicles 1:7–12; John 14:13–14
- 6 1 Kings 9:4; 1 Kings 1:48; 1 Kings 2:4; 2 Corinthians 9:11; 2 Samuel 7:8–12
- 7 1 Chronicles 29:1; Numbers 27:17; Jeremiah 1:6; Matthew 18:3–4; Daniel 4:32
- 8 Genesis 15:5; Genesis 13:16; 1 Chronicles 21:2; Genesis 22:17; 1 Chronicles 27:23–24
- 9 James 1:5; Hebrews 5:14; Proverbs 16:16; John 5:30; Proverbs 2:3–9
- 10 Proverbs 15:8
- 11 1 Kings 3:9; James 4:2–3; Proverbs 16:31; Romans 8:26; Psalm 4:6
- 12 1 John 5:14–15; Ecclesiastes 1:16; Matthew 12:42; 1 Kings 5:12; 1 Kings 10:23–24
- 13 Ephesians 3:20; Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 3:16; Psalm 84:11–12; Romans 8:32
- 14 Proverbs 3:2; Psalm 91:16; 1 Kings 15:5; Zechariah 3:7; 2 Chronicles 34:2
- 15 Genesis 41:7; 1 Kings 8:65; Esther 1:3; Daniel 5:1; 1 Chronicles 16:1–2
- 16 Exodus 18:16; Judges 11:1; Leviticus 19:29; Joshua 2:1; Numbers 27:2
- 20 John 3:20; Matthew 13:25; Job 24:13–17; Psalm 139:11
- 21 Genesis 21:7; 1 Samuel 1:23
- 25 Proverbs 25:8
- 26 Isaiah 49:15; Jeremiah 31:20; 1 John 3:17; Genesis 43:30; Hosea 11:8
- 28 Colossians 2:3; 1 Kings 3:9–12; Daniel 2:47; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Ecclesiastes 7:19
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).
Do thou also therefore ask nothing worldly, but all things spiritual, and thou wilt surely receive. For so Solomon, because he asked what he ought, behold how quickly he received.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)