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1 Kings 4
EasyEnglish Bible
1 Kings 4
EasyEnglish Bible
Solomon's officers
4 King Solomon ruled over all Israel as king. 2 These were his important officers:
Zadok's son Azariah was the priest.
3 Shisha's sons, Elihoreph and Ahijah, were secretaries.
Ahilud's son Jehoshaphat recorded what happened.
4 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was the leader of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Nathan's son Azariah had authority over the 12 officers for each region.
Nathan's son Zabud was a priest who gave the king advice.
6 Ahishar had authority over work in the palace.
Abda's son Adoniram had authority over the groups of workers.
7 Solomon had 12 officers with authority in the regions of Israel. They supplied food for the king and for the people who lived in his palace. Each officer had to supply food to the king for one month in each year. 8 These are their names:
Ben-Hur had authority in Ephraim's hill country.
9 Ben-Deker had authority in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Beth Hanan.
10 Ben-Hesed had authority in Arubboth. That included Sokoh and all the fields around Hepher.
11 Ben-Abinadab had authority in Naphath Dor. He had married Solomon's daughter, Taphath.
12 Ahilud's son Baana had authority in Taanach and Megiddo, as well as in all of Beth-Shan that is near Zarethan, below Jezreel. He had authority from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah and as far as Jokmeam.
13 Ben-Geber had authority in Ramoth Gilead. That included the villages of Manasseh's son Jair in Gilead. It also included the region of Argob in Bashan with 60 large cities which had strong walls gates with bronze bars.[a]
14 Iddo's son had authority in Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz had authority in Naphtali. He had married Solomon's daughter, Basemath.
16 Hushai's son Baana had authority in Asher and Aloth.
17 Paruah's son Jehoshaphat had authority in Issachar.
18 Ela's son Shimei had authority in Benjamin.
19 Uri's son Geber had authority in Gilead. Gilead was the region where Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, had ruled.[b]
There was also one officer who had authority over the whole land.
Solomon's kingdom
20 The people in Judah and Israel were too many to count. There were as many of them as the sand on the shore of the sea. They had enough to eat and to drink and they were happy.
21 Solomon ruled over all the nations from the Euphrates river to the land of the Philistines, as far as Egypt's border. The people of these kingdoms paid taxes to Solomon. They served him all the days of his life.
22 This is the food that Solomon and the people in his palace ate each day:
5,000 litres of flour.
10,000 litres of grain.
23 10 fat calves that they fed with grain.
20 calves that ate grass in the fields.
100 sheep.
Many kinds of deer and fat birds.
24 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates river, from Tiphsah as far as Gaza. There was peace in all these places. 25 While Solomon was alive, Judah and Israel were safe from their enemies. In the whole country, from Dan to Beersheba, every family had a place to live and they could grow food to eat. 26 Solomon had places to keep 4,000 horses that pulled his chariots.[c] He also had 12,000 horses. 27 The 12 officers in each region supplied food for King Solomon and for everybody that ate in his palace. Each region supplied food for one month each year so that there was enough for everyone. 28 Each officer also supplied barley and straw for the king's horses. They took the right amount to the different places where the horses lived.
Solomon's wisdom
29 God gave Solomon wisdom so that he understood things well. He knew about everything, more things than there is sand on the shore of the sea! 30 Solomon was wiser than all the wise men in the East and all the wise men in Egypt. 31 He was wiser than any other man. This includes Ethan the Ezrahite, as well as Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol.[d] Solomon was famous in all the nations around Israel. 32 He wrote down 3,000 proverbs and he wrote 1,005 songs.[e] 33 He could describe many plants. These included large trees like cedar trees that grow in Lebanon and small plants like hyssop that grows on walls. He also taught people about all kinds of animals, birds, insects and fish.[f] 34 People came from all countries to listen to Solomon's wise teaching. Kings of all the nations in the world who heard about Solomon's wisdom sent people to learn from him.
Footnotes
- 4:13 The bars locked the gates so that people outside the city could not open them.
- 4:19 The reports about Sihon and Og are in Numbers 21:21-35.
- 4:26 ‘4,000’ or ‘40,000’.
- 4:31 See 1 Chronicles 2:6.
- 4:32 There is a whole book of Solomon's proverbs in the Bible. See Proverbs 1.
- 4:33 ‘insects’ or ‘snakes and lizards’.
1 Kings 4
New International Version
1 Kings 4
New International Version
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
4 So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2 And these were his chief officials:(A)
Azariah(B) son of Zadok—the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;(C)
Jehoshaphat(D) son of Ahilud—recorder;
4 Benaiah(E) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;
Zadok(F) and Abiathar—priests;
5 Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;
Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;
6 Ahishar—palace administrator;(G)
7 Solomon had twelve district governors(J) over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. 8 These are their names:
Ben-Hur—in the hill country(K) of Ephraim;
9 Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(L) Beth Shemesh(M) and Elon Bethhanan;
10 Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh(N) and all the land of Hepher(O) were his);
11 Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor(P) (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);
12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(Q) next to Zarethan(R) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(S) across to Jokmeam;(T)
13 Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair(U) son of Manasseh in Gilead(V) were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities(W) with bronze gate bars);
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;(X)
15 Ahimaaz(Y)—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana son of Hushai(Z)—in Asher and in Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;
18 Shimei(AA) son of Ela—in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(AB) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(AC) king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.
Solomon’s Daily Provisions
20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand(AD) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(AE) 21 And Solomon ruled(AF) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(AG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(AH) These countries brought tribute(AI) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.
22 Solomon’s daily provisions(AJ) were thirty cors[a] of the finest flour and sixty cors[b] of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.(AK) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(AL) to Gaza, and had peace(AM) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(AN) lived in safety,(AO) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(AP)
26 Solomon had four[c] thousand stalls for chariot horses,(AQ) and twelve thousand horses.[d]
27 The district governors,(AR) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.
Solomon’s Wisdom
29 God gave Solomon wisdom(AS) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(AT) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(AU) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(AV) 31 He was wiser(AW) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs(AX) and his songs(AY) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(AZ) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings(BA) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons
- 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
- 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty
- 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers
- 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.
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