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1 Kings 3:5-12
New King James Version
1 Kings 3:5-12
New King James Version
5 (A)At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon (B)in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
6 (C)And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he (D)walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You (E)have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a (F)little child; I do not know how (G)to go out or come in. 8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You (H)have chosen, a great people, (I)too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 (J)Therefore give to Your servant an [a]understanding heart (K)to judge Your people, that I may (L)discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have (M)not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12 (N)behold, I have done according to your words; (O)see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.
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- 1 Kings 3:9 Lit. hearing
1 Kings 3:5-12
New American Standard Bible
1 Kings 3:5-12
New American Standard Bible
5 (A)In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon (B)in a dream at night; and God said, “(C)Ask what you wish Me to give you.”
Solomon’s Prayer
6 Then Solomon said, “(D)You have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, (E)according as he walked before You in [a]truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and (F)You have [b]reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, Lord my God, (G)You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet (H)I am like a little boy; (I)I do not know how to [c]go out or come in. 8 And (J)Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, (K)a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So (L)give Your servant [d]an understanding heart to judge Your people, (M)to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this [e]great people of Yours?”
God’s Answer
10 Now [f]it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have (N)not asked for yourself [g]a long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, 12 behold, (O)I have done according to your words. Behold, (P)I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
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- 1 Kings 3:6 Or faithfulness
- 1 Kings 3:6 Lit kept
- 1 Kings 3:7 I.e., conduct daily business
- 1 Kings 3:9 Or a heart that listens
- 1 Kings 3:9 Lit heavy
- 1 Kings 3:10 Lit the thing was
- 1 Kings 3:11 Lit many days
1 Kings 3:5-12
Amplified Bible
1 Kings 3:5-12
Amplified Bible
5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask [Me] what I shall give you.”
Solomon’s Prayer
6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. 7 So now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father; and as for me, I am but a little boy [[a]in wisdom and experience]; I do not know how to go out or come in [that is, how to conduct business as a king]. 8 Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart [with which] to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge and rule this great people of Yours?”(A)
God’s Answer
10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice, 12 behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise and discerning heart (mind), so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall anyone equal to you arise after you.
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- 1 Kings 3:7 Solomon was already a father (see 11:42; 14:21).
1 Kings 3:5-12
New International Version
1 Kings 3:5-12
New International Version
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared(A) to Solomon during the night in a dream,(B) and God said, “Ask(C) for whatever you want me to give you.”
6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful(D) to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son(E) to sit on his throne this very day.
7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child(F) and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen,(G) a great people, too numerous to count or number.(H) 9 So give your servant a discerning(I) heart to govern your people and to distinguish(J) between right and wrong. For who is able(K) to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked(L) for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment(M) in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked.(N) I will give you a wise(O) and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
1 Kings 3:5-12
King James Version
1 Kings 3:5-12
King James Version
5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.