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1 Kings 4
1599 Geneva Bible
1 Kings 4
1599 Geneva Bible
4 2 The princes and rulers under Solomon. 22 The purveyance for his victuals. 26 The number of his horses. 32 His books and writings.
1 And king Solomon was king over all Israel.
2 And these were [a]his princes, [b]Azariah the son of Zadok the Priest,
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha, Scribes, Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the Recorder,
4 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host, and Zadok and [c]Abiathar, Priests,
5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers, and Zabud the son of Nathan, Priest, was the king’s friend,
6 And Ahishar was over the household, and (A)Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
7 ¶ And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man had a month in the year to provide victuals.
8 And these are their names: the son of Hur in mount Ephraim:
9 The son of Deker in Makaz, and in Shaalbim and Beth Shemesh, and [d]Elon and Beth Hanan:
10 The son of Hesed in Arubboth, to whom pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:
11 The son of Abinadab in all the region of Dor, which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife.
12 Baana the son of Ahilud in Taanach, and Megiddo, and in all Beth Shean, which is by Zaretan beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean [e]to Abel Meholah, even till beyond over against Jokneam:
13 The son of Geber in Ramoth Gilead, and his were the towns of [f]Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and under him was the region of Argob, which is in Bashan: threescore great cities with walls and bars of brass.
14 ¶ Ahinadab the son of Iddo had to Mahanaim:
15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali, and he took Basemath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
16 Baanah the son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth:
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in [g]Issachar:
18 Shimei the son of Elah in Benjamin:
19 Geber the son of Uri in the country of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan, and was officer alone in the land.
20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand of the sea in number, [h]eating, drinking, and making merry.
21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms, from the [i]River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt, and they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 And Solomon’s victuals for one day were thirty [j]measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal:
23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, besides harts, and bucks, and bugles, and fat fowl.
24 For he ruled in all the region on the other side of the River, from Tiphsah even unto [k]Gaza, over all the [l]kings on the other side the River: and he had peace round about him on every side.
25 And Judah and Israel dwelt without fear every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, from [m]Dan, even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 ¶ And Solomon had (B)forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And these officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came to king Solomon’s table, every man his month, and they suffered to lack nothing.
28 Barley also and straw for the horses and mules, brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
29 ¶ And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and [n]a large heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore,
30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the [o]East, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than any man: yea, than were Ethan the Ezrahite, than Heman, than Chalcol, than Darda the sons of Mahol: and he was famous throughout all nations round about.
32 And Solomon spake three thousand [p]proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the [q]hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:2 That is, his chief officers.
- 1 Kings 4:2 He was the son of Ahimaaz and Zadok’s nephew.
- 1 Kings 4:4 Not Abiathar whom Solomon had put from his office, 1 Kings 2:27, but another of that Name.
- 1 Kings 4:9 Or, Elon in Beth Aven.
- 1 Kings 4:12 Or, to the plain.
- 1 Kings 4:13 Which towns bare Jair’s name, because he took them of the Canaanites, Num. 32:41.
- 1 Kings 4:17 Solomon observed not the division that Joshua made, but divided it as might best serve for his purpose.
- 1 Kings 4:20 They lived in all peace and security.
- 1 Kings 4:21 Which is Euphrates.
- 1 Kings 4:22 Hebrew, Kors.
- 1 Kings 4:24 Or, Gaza.
- 1 Kings 4:24 For they were all tributaries unto him.
- 1 Kings 4:25 Throughout all Israel.
- 1 Kings 4:29 Meaning, great understanding and able to comprehend all things.
- 1 Kings 4:30 To wit, the Philosophers and Astronomers, which were judged most wise.
- 1 Kings 4:32 Which for the most part are thought to have perished in the captivity of Babylon.
- 1 Kings 4:33 From the highest to the lowest.
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.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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