New King James Version

New Living Translation

Solomon’s Administration

So King Solomon was king over all Israel.

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Solomon’s Officials and Governors

King Solomon now ruled over all Israel,

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And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;

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and these were his high officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.

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Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [a]scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;

3

Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.

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Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests;

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Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

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Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king’s friend;

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Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.

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Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.

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Ahishar was manager of the palace property.
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.

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And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year.

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Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year.

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These are their names: [b]Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim;

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These are the names of the twelve governors:
Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.

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[c]Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;

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Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.

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[d]Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher;

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Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.

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[e]Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife;

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Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.a (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)

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Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam;

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Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shanb near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.

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[f]Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan — sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars;

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Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manassehc) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.

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Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

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Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.

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Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife;

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Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)

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Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth;

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Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.

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Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

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Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.

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Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin;

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Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.

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Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

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Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead,d including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
There was also one governor over the land of Judah.e

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Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.

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Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink.

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So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the[g] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

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fSolomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates Riverg in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.

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Now Solomon’s [h]provision for one day was thirty [i]kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal,

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The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of mealh;

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ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

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also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.i

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For he had dominion over all the region on this side of [j]the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him.

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Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders.

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And Judah and Israel dwelt[k] safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

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During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.j

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Solomon had [l]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

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Solomon had 4,000k stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.l

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And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply.

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The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him.

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They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

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They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.

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And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.

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God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore.

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Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

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In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt.

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For he was wiser than all men — than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

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He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol — Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.

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He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.

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He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.

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Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.

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He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish.

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And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

34

And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

1 Kings 4

1 Kings 4