1 Kings

Chapter 4

1. So king Solomon was king over all Israel.
2. And these were the princes whom he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,
3. Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.
4. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
5. And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was priest, and the king’s friend:
6. And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.
7. And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.
8. And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:
9. The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan:
10. The son of Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Socoh, and all the land of Hepher:
11. The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; who had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife:
12. Baana the son of Ahilud; in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokmeam:
13. The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and bronze bars:
14. Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:
15. Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife:
16. Baana the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:
17. Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:
18. Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin:
19. Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in 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 many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and rejoicing.
21. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22. And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, and threescore cors of meal,
23. Ten fatted oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, beside harts, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
24. For he had dominion over all the region 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 round about him.
25. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.
26. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27. And those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.
28. Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
29. And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.
30. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.
32. And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
33. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
34. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.