1 Raja-raja 2:13--4:34
Konteks2:13 Haggith’s son Adonijah visited Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come in peace?” He answered, “Yes.” 1 2:14 He added, 2 “I have something to say to you.” She replied, “Speak.” 2:15 He said, “You know that the kingdom 3 was mine and all Israel considered me king. 4 But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his. 5 2:16 Now I’d like to ask you for just one thing. Please don’t refuse me.” 6 She said, “Go ahead and ask.” 7 2:17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won’t refuse you.” 8 2:18 Bathsheba replied, “That’s fine, 9 I’ll speak to the king on your behalf.”
2:19 So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greet 10 her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother, 11 and she sat at his right hand. 2:20 She said, “I would like to ask you for just one small favor. 12 Please don’t refuse me.” 13 He said, 14 “Go ahead and ask, my mother, for I would not refuse you.” 2:21 She said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite to be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.” 2:22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him? 15 Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
2:23 King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, “May God judge me severely, 16 if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life! 17 2:24 Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David’s throne, and established a dynasty 18 for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!” 2:25 King Solomon then sent 19 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he killed Adonijah. 20
2:26 The king then told Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your property 21 in Anathoth. You deserve to die, 22 but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times.” 23 2:27 Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, 24 fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli. 25
2:28 When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported 26 Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he 27 ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. 28 2:29 When King Solomon heard 29 that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, 30 “Go, strike him down.” 2:30 When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But he replied, “No, I will die here!” So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab’s reply. 31 2:31 The king told him, “Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father’s family 32 the guilt of Joab’s murderous, bloody deeds. 33 2:32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; 34 behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he 35 – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 2:33 May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, 36 and his dynasty.” 37 2:34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; 38 he was buried at his home in the wilderness. 2:35 The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of 39 the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place. 40
2:36 Next the king summoned 41 Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem 42 and live there – but you may not leave there to go anywhere! 43 2:37 If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death.” 44 2:38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable. 45 Your servant will do as you say.” 46 So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. 47
2:39 Three years later two of Shimei’s servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your servants are in Gath.” 2:40 So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. 2:41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned, 2:42 the king summoned 48 Shimei and said to him, “You will recall 49 that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere, 50 know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’ 51 2:43 Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?” 52 2:44 Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. 53 The Lord will punish you for what you did. 54 2:45 But King Solomon will be empowered 55 and David’s dynasty 56 will endure permanently before the Lord.” 2:46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. 57
So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. 58
3:1 Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David 59 until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. 60 3:2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, 61 because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. 62 3:3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following 63 the practices 64 of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
3:4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places. 65 Solomon would offer up 66 a thousand burnt sacrifices on the altar there. 3:5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared 67 to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell 68 me what I should give you.” 3:6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated 69 great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served 70 you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. 71 You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne. 72 3:7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. 73 3:8 Your servant stands 74 among your chosen people; 75 they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 3:9 So give your servant a discerning mind 76 so he can make judicial decisions for 77 your people and distinguish right from wrong. 78 Otherwise 79 no one is able 80 to make judicial decisions for 81 this great nation of yours.” 82 3:10 The Lord 83 was pleased that Solomon made this request. 84 3:11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, 85 3:12 I 86 grant your request, 87 and give 88 you a wise and discerning mind 89 superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. 90 3:13 Furthermore, I am giving 91 you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation. 92 3:14 If you follow my instructions 93 by obeying 94 my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, 95 then I will grant you long life.” 96 3:15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. 97 He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, 98 and held a feast for all his servants.
3:16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 3:17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 3:18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us. 99 3:19 This woman’s child suffocated 100 during the night when she rolled 101 on top of him. 3:20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 3:21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was, 102 dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.” 103 3:22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king. 104
3:23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 3:24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword!” So they placed a sword before the king. 3:25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 3:26 The real mother 105 spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. 106 She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!” 107 But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!” 3:27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 3:28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected 108 the king, for they realized 109 that he possessed supernatural wisdom 110 to make judicial decisions.
4:1 King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 4:2 These were his officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. 111
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records.
4:4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of 112 the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
4:5 Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of 113 the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to 114 the king.
4:6 Ahishar was supervisor of the palace. 115
Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of 116 the work crews. 117
4:7 Solomon had twelve district governors appointed throughout Israel who acquired supplies for the king and his palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year. 4:8 These were their names:
Ben-Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
4:9 Ben-Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan.
4:10 Ben-Hesed was in charge of Arubboth; he controlled Socoh and all the territory of Hepher.
4:11 Ben-Abinadab was in charge of Naphath Dor. (He was married to Solomon’s daughter Taphath.)
4:12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of Taanach and Megiddo, 118 as well as all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah and on past Jokmeam.
4:13 Ben-Geber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he controlled the tent villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty large walled cities with bronze bars locking their gates.
4:14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim.
4:15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon’s daughter Basemath.)
4:16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth.
4:17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of Issachar.
4:18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of Benjamin.
4:19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area.
4:20 The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. 4:21 (5:1) 119 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River 120 to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. 121 4:22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed 122 thirty cors 123 of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, 4:23 ten calves fattened in the stall, 124 twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. 4:24 His royal court was so large because 125 he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah 126 to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. 127 4:25 All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon’s lifetime. 128 4:26 Solomon had 4,000 129 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. 4:27 The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace. 130 Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking. 4:28 Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses. 131
4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding 132 was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. 4:30 Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt. 133 4:31 He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations. 134 4:32 He composed 135 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 4:33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, 136 from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing 137 animals, birds, insects, and fish. 4:34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom; 138 they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.
[2:14] 2 tn Heb “and he said.”
[2:15] 4 tn Heb “set their face to me to be king.”
[2:15] 5 tn Heb “and the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s, for from the
[2:16] 6 tn Heb “Do not turn back my face.”
[2:16] 7 tn Heb “She said, ‘Speak!’”
[2:17] 8 tn Heb “Say to Solomon the king, for he will not turn back your face, that he might give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.”
[2:18] 9 tn Heb “[It is] good!”
[2:19] 11 tn Heb “he set up a throne for the mother of the king.”
[2:20] 12 tn Or “I’d like to make just one request of you.”
[2:20] 13 tn Heb “Do not turn back my face.”
[2:20] 14 tn Heb “and the king said to her.”
[2:22] 15 tn Heb “for Adonijah.”
[2:23] 16 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
[2:23] 17 tn Heb “if with his life Adonijah has not spoken this word.”
[2:25] 19 tn The Hebrew text adds, “by the hand of.”
[2:25] 20 tn Heb “and he struck him and he died.”
[2:26] 22 tn Heb “you are a man of death.”
[2:26] 23 tn Heb “and because you suffered through all which my father suffered.”
[2:27] 24 tn Heb “Solomon drove out Abiathar from being a priest to the
[2:27] 25 tn Heb “fulfilling the word of the
[2:28] 26 tn Heb “turned after” (also later in this verse).
[2:28] 27 tn Heb “Joab.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[2:28] 28 sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Joab was seeking asylum from Solomon.
[2:29] 29 tn Heb “and it was related to King Solomon.”
[2:29] 30 tn Heb “so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying.”
[2:30] 31 tn Heb “saying, “In this way Joab spoke and in this way he answered me.”
[2:31] 33 tn Heb “take away the undeserved bloodshed which Joab spilled from upon me and from upon the house of my father.”
[2:32] 34 tn Heb “The
[2:32] 35 tn Heb “because he struck down two men more innocent and better than he and he killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know.”
[2:33] 37 tn Heb “his throne.”
[2:34] 38 tn Heb “struck him and killed him.” The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:35] 40 tc The Old Greek translation includes after v. 35 some fourteen verses that are absent from the MT.
[2:36] 41 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
[2:36] 42 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[2:36] 43 tn Heb “and you may not go out from there here or there.”
[2:37] 44 tn Heb “your blood will be upon your head.”
[2:38] 45 tn Heb “Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken.”
[2:38] 46 tn Heb “so your servant will do.”
[2:42] 48 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
[2:42] 49 tn Heb “Is it not [true]…?” In the Hebrew text the statement is interrogative; the rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course it is.”
[2:42] 50 tn Heb “here or there.”
[2:42] 51 tn Heb “good is the word; I have heard.”
[2:43] 52 tn Heb “Why have you not kept the oath [to] the
[2:44] 53 tn Heb “You know all the evil, for your heart knows, which you did to David my father.”
[2:44] 54 tn Heb “The
[2:46] 57 tn “The king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died.”
[2:46] 58 tn “And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”
[3:1] 59 sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[3:1] 60 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:2] 61 sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.
[3:2] 62 tn Heb “for the name of the
[3:3] 63 tn Heb “Solomon loved the
[3:3] 64 tn Or “policies, rules.”
[3:4] 65 tn Heb “for it was the great high place.”
[3:4] 66 tn The verb form is an imperfect, which is probably used here in a customary sense to indicate continued or repeated action in past time. See GKC 314 §107.b.
[3:5] 67 tn Or “revealed himself.”
[3:6] 70 tn Heb “walked before.”
[3:6] 71 tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.”
[3:6] 72 tn Heb “and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day.”
[3:7] 73 tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”
[3:8] 74 tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[3:8] 75 tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”
[3:9] 76 tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
[3:9] 78 tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”
[3:9] 79 tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.
[3:9] 80 tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”
[3:9] 82 tn Heb “your numerous people.”
[3:10] 83 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[3:10] 84 tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”
[3:11] 85 tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.”
[3:12] 86 tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.
[3:12] 87 tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.
[3:12] 88 tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).
[3:12] 89 tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
[3:12] 90 tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”
[3:13] 91 tn The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made.
[3:13] 92 tn Heb “so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days.” The LXX lacks the words “all your days.”
[3:14] 93 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
[3:14] 96 tn Heb “I will lengthen your days.”
[3:15] 97 tn Heb “and look, a dream.”
[3:15] 98 tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
[3:18] 99 sn There was no one else in the house except the two of us. In other words, there were no other witnesses to the births who could identify which child belonged to which mother.
[3:19] 101 tn Heb “lay, slept.”
[3:21] 103 tn Heb “look, it was not my son to whom I had given birth.”
[3:22] 104 tn Heb “they spoke before the king.” Another option is to translate, “they argued before the king.”
[3:26] 105 tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”
[3:26] 106 tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”
[3:26] 107 tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.
[3:28] 108 tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.”
[3:28] 110 tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.”
[4:3] 111 tn Heb “were scribes”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “secretaries”; TEV, NLT “court secretaries.”
[4:5] 114 tn Heb “close associate of”; KJV, ASV, NASB “the king’s friend” (a title for an adviser, not just an acquaintance).
[4:6] 115 tn Heb “over the house.”
[4:6] 117 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
[4:12] 118 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[4:21] 119 sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.
[4:21] 120 tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.
[4:21] 121 tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”
[4:22] 122 tn Heb “the food of Solomon for each day was.”
[4:22] 123 tn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
[4:23] 124 tn The words “in the stall” are added for clarification; note the immediately following reference to cattle from the pasture.
[4:24] 125 tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.
[4:24] 126 sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.
[4:24] 127 tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”
[4:25] 128 tn Heb “Judah and Israel lived securely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer Sheba, all the days of Solomon.”
[4:26] 129 tn The Hebrew text has “40,000,” but this is probably an inflated number (nevertheless it is followed by KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, CEV). Some Greek
[4:27] 130 tn Heb “everyone who drew near to the table of King Solomon.”
[4:28] 131 tn Heb “barley and straw for the horses and the steeds they brought to the place which was there, each according to his measure.”
[4:29] 132 tn Heb “heart,” i.e., mind. (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
[4:30] 133 tn Heb “the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.”
[4:31] 134 tn Heb “his name was in all the surrounding nations.”
[4:33] 136 tn Heb “he spoke about plants.”
