1 Kings 3 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Solomon formed an with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by marrying Pharaoh's daughter. He brought her to the of until he finished building his own palace, Yahweh's temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.
The people were still offering sacrifices at the though, because no temple had been built for yet.
Solomon Yahweh, living by the his father David had given him — except that he still offered sacrifices and at the local shrines.
The king went to to offer sacrifices there, because that was the most important shrine. Solomon offered a thousand on that altar.
At Gibeon, Yahweh to Solomon in a dream during the night. God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
Solomon answered, "You showed tremendous to your my father David, because he you doing what was right and keeping his heart straight with you. And you've continued this great by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.
"Now, Yahweh my God, you've made your servant king in place of my father David. But I'm just a — I don't even know how to lead properly.
"Your servant is here among the people you've — a people so vast they can't be counted or even estimated.
"So give your servant a that — one that can your people and tell the difference between and Because who could possibly this enormous people of yours?"
It the that Solomon had asked for this.
God said to him, "Because you asked for this — you didn't ask for a long life, you didn't ask for wealth, you didn't ask for the death of your enemies — but instead you asked for the to just,
"I'm doing exactly what you asked. I'm giving you a and — so much so that there's never been anyone like you before, and there never will be again.
"And on top of that, I'm giving you what you didn't ask for — both and — so that no other king will be your equal for the rest of your life.
"And if you in my keeping my instructions and my commands the way your father David did, I'll give you a long life too."
Then Solomon woke up — and realized it had been a dream. He went back to Jerusalem, stood before the of offered burnt and and threw a feast for all his officials.
Then two women who were came and stood before the king.
One woman said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me.
"Three days after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone — no one else was in the house with us, just the two of us.
"During the night, this woman's son died because she rolled onto him in her sleep.
"So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while I was sleeping. She laid him at her breast and put her dead son at mine.
"When I got up in the morning to nurse my son — he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I realized it wasn't my baby at all."
The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is yours." But the first woman insisted, "No! The dead one is yours, and the living one is mine." And they argued back and forth in front of the king.
The king said, "So one of you says, 'My son is the one who's alive, and your son is dead,' and the other says, 'No! Your son is the dead one, and my son is alive.'"
Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword to the king.
The king said, "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."
The woman whose son was actually alive was with for her son. She cried out to the king, "Please, my lord — give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other woman said, "He won't be mine or yours. Cut him in half."
Then the king "Give the living baby to the first woman. Don't kill him. She is mother."
When all of Israel heard about the king's verdict, they in of him, because they could see that God's own was in him for carrying out