solomon

⁹And so, the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his mind had been turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰and who had instructed him about this matter, lest he follow strange gods. But he did not observe what the Lord commanded to him. ¹¹And so, the Lord said to Solomon: “Because you have this with you, and because you have not kept my covenant and my precepts, which I commanded to you, I will tear apart your kingdom, and I will give it to your servant. ¹²Yet truly, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David. From the hand of your son, I will tear it away. ¹³Neither will I take away the whole kingdom. Instead, I will grant one tribe to your son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

²³And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart.

⁴And when now he was old, his heart was perverted by the women, so that he followed strange gods. And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.

²⁴And David consoled his wife Bathsheba. And entering to her, he slept with her. And she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loved him.

²⁵Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.

¹⁷And for the three hundred crescent-shaped shields of tested gold, there were three hundred minas of gold covering one shield. And the king placed these in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

⁷But behold, during that night God appeared to him, saying, “Request what you wish, so that I may give it to you.” ⁸And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great mercy to my father David. And you have appointed me as king in his place. ⁹Now therefore, O Lord God, let your word be fulfilled, which you promised to my father David. For you have made me king over your great people, who are as innumerable as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰Give to me wisdom and understanding, so that I may enter and depart before your people. For who is able worthily to judge this, your people, who are so great?” ¹¹Then God said to Solomon: “Since this is the choice that pleased your heart, and you did not request wealth and substance and glory, nor the lives of those who hate you, nor even many days of life, since instead you requested wisdom and knowledge so that you may be able to judge my people, over whom I have appointed you as king: ¹²wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. And I will give to you wealth and substance and glory, so that none of the kings either before you or after you will be similar to you.”

²⁴And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.

³And for him, there were seven hundred wives, as if they were queens, and three hundred concubines. And the women turned aside his heart.

²³And so, king Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.