1 Kings 4 - NKJV Bible Online

1 Kings 4

Solomon’s Administration

So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, ¹scribes; ^aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 ^aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and ^bAbiathar, the priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over ^athe officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, ^ba priest and ^cthe king’s friend; 6 Ahishar, over the household; and ^aAdoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.
7 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. 8 These are their names: ¹Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9 ¹Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10 ¹Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 ¹Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 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; 13 ¹Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged ^athe towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged ^bthe region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 ^aAhimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of ^aHushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 ^aShimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in ^athe country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

20 Judah and Israel were as numerous ^aas the sand by the sea in multitude, ^beating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So ^aSolomon reigned over all kingdoms from ^bthe¹ River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. ^cThey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 ^aNow Solomon’s ¹provision for one day was thirty ²kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of ¹the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over ^aall the kings on this side of the River; and ^bhe had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel ^adwelt¹ safely, ^beach man under his vine and his fig tree, ^cfrom Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 ^aSolomon had ¹forty thousand stalls of ^bhorses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And ^athese 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. 28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
29 And ^aGod gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men ^aof the East and all ^bthe wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was ^awiser than all men—^bthan Ethan the Ezrahite, ^cand Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 ^aHe spoke three thousand proverbs, and his ^bsongs were one thousand and five. 33 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. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, ^acame to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

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