3Later, Solomon intermarried with the family of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt by taking his daughter and bringing her to the city of David to live until he had completed building his own palace, the Lord's temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.H8010H2859H6547H4428H4714H3947H6547H1323H935H5892H1732H3615H1129H1004H1004H3068H2346H3389H5439 2The people were sacrificing at various high places because the temple had not yet been built and dedicated to the Lord.H5971H2076H1116H1004H1129H8034H3068H3117 3Solomon loved the Lord, and lived according to the statutes that his father David obeyed, except that he sacrificed and burned offerings at the high places.H8010H157H3068H3212H2708H1732H1H2076H6999H1116 4The king used to go to Gibeon to sacrifice, since there was a famous high place there, where Solomon once offered 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar.H4428H3212H1391H2076H1931H1419H1116H505H5930H8010H5927H4196 5The Lord appeared to Solomon one night in a dream and told him, "Ask me for whatever you want and I'll give it to you."H1391H3068H7200H8010H2472H3915H430H559H7592H5414 6So Solomon said: "You have demonstrated abundant gracious love to your servant David, my father, as he lived in your presence truthfully, righteously, and uprightly in his heart. In addition, you have kept on showing this abundant gracious love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.H8010H559H6213H5650H1732H1H1419H2617H1980H6440H571H6666H3483H3824H8104H1419H2617H5414H1121H3427H3678H3117 7Now, Lord my God, you have set me as king to replace my father David, but I'm still young. I don't have any leadership skills.H3068H430H5650H4427H1732H1H6996H5288H3045H3318H935 8Your servant lives in the midst of your people that you have chosen, a great people that is too numerous to be counted.H5650H8432H5971H977H7227H5971H4487H5608H7230 9So give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, so I can discern between good and evil. Otherwise, how shall I be able to govern this great people of yours?"8H5414H5650H8085H3820H8199H5971H995H2896H7451H3201H8199H3515H5971 10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this,H1697H3190H5869H136H8010H7592H1697 11so God said to him: "Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life for yourself, and you didn't ask for the lives of your enemies, but instead you've asked for discernment so you can understand how to govern,H430H559H7592H1697H7592H7227H3117H7592H6239H7592H5315H341H7592H995H8085H4941 12look how I'm going to do precisely what you asked. I'm giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.H6213H1697H5414H2450H995H3820H6440H310H6965 13I'm also giving you what you haven't requested: both riches and honor, so that no other king will be comparable to you during your lifetime.H5414H7592H6239H3519H376H4428H3117 14If you will live life my way, keeping my statutes and my commands, just like your father David did, I'll also increase the length of your life."H3212H1870H8104H2706H4687H1H1732H1980H748H3117 15Then Solomon woke up and realized that he had dreamed a dream. Then he went back to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and threw a party for all of his servants.H8010H3364H2472H935H3389H5975H6440H727H1285H3068H5927H5930H6213H8002H6213H4960H5650 16Right about then, two prostitutes approached the king and requested an audience with him.H935H8147H802H2181H4428H5975H6440 17One woman said, "Your majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.H259H802H559H994H113H802H3427H259H1004H3205H1004 18Three days later, this woman also gave birth. We lived alone there. There was nobody else with us in the house. It was just the two of us.H7992H3117H3205H802H3205H3162H2114H1004H2108H8147H1004 19This woman's son died overnight because she laid on top of him.H802H1121H4191H3915H7901 20She got up in the middle of the night, took my son from me while your servant was asleep, and laid him to her breast after laying her dead son next to me.H6965H8432H3915H3947H1121H681H519H3463H7901H2436H7901H4191H1121H2436 21The next morning, I got up to nurse my son, and he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the light of day, he turned out not to be my son whom I had borne!"3H6965H1242H1121H3243H4191H995H1242H1121H3205 22"Not so," claimed the other woman. "The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours." But the first woman said, "Not so! The dead child is your son and the living one is my son." This is what they testified before the king.H312H802H559H2416H1121H4191H1121H559H4191H1121H2416H1121H1696H6440H4428 23The king said, "One of them claims, 'This living son is mine, and your son is the dead one' and the other claims 'No. Your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.'H559H4428H2063H559H1121H2416H1121H4191H2063H559H1121H4191H1121H2416 24"Somebody get me a sword." So they brought a sword to the king.H4428H559H3947H2719H935H2719H6440H4428 25"Divide the living child in two!" he ordered. "Give half to the one and half to the other."H4428H559H1504H2416H3206H8147H5414H2677H259H2677H259 26The woman whose child was still alive cried out to the king, because her heart yearned for her son. "Oh no, your majesty!" she said. "Give her the living child. Please don't kill him." But the other woman said, "Cut him in half! That way, he'll belong to neither one of us."H559H802H2416H1121H4428H7356H3648H1121H559H994H113H5414H2416H3205H4191H4191H559H1504 27The king announced his decision: "Give the living child to the first woman. Don't kill him. She is his mother."H4428H6030H559H5414H2416H3205H4191H4191H517 28When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at the king, because they all saw that God's wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice.H3478H8085H4941H4428H8199H3372H6440H7200H2451H430H7130H6213H4941
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