Solomon Marries Pharaoh's Daughter

3¹ And Solomon joineth in marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and taketh the daughter of Pharaoh, and bringeth her in unto the city of David, till he completeth to build his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. ² Only, the people are sacrificing in high places, for there hath not been built a house for the name of Jehovah till those days.

Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom

³ And Solomon loveth Jehovah, to walk in the statutes of David his father—only, in high places he is sacrificing and making perfume— ⁴ and the king goeth to Gibeon, to sacrifice there, for it 'is' the great high place; a thousand burnt-offerings cause to ascend doth Solomon on that altar.

⁵ In Gibeon hath Jehovah appeared unto Solomon, in a dream of the night, and God saith, 'Ask—what do I give to thee?' ⁶ And Solomon saith, 'Thou hast done with Thy servant David my father great kindness, as he walked before Thee in truth and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee, and Thou dost keep for him this great kindness, and dost give to him a son sitting on his throne, as 'at' this day. ⁷ And now, O Jehovah my God, Thou hast caused thy servant to reign instead of David my father; and I 'am' a little child, I do not know to go out and to come in; ⁸ and Thy servant 'is' in the midst of thy people, whom Thou hast chosen, a people numerous, that is not numbered nor counted for multitude, ⁹ and Thou hast given to Thy servant an understanding heart, to judge Thy people, to discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great people?' ¹⁰ And the thing is good in the eyes of the Lord, that Solomon hath asked this thing, ¹¹ and God saith unto him, 'Because that thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thee many days, nor asked for thee riches, nor asked the life of thine enemies, and hast asked for thee discernment to understand judgment, ¹² lo, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given to thee a heart, wise and understanding, that like thee there hath not been before thee, and after thee there doth not arise like thee; ¹³ and also, that which thou hast not asked I have given to thee, both riches and honour, that there hath not been like thee a man among the kings all thy days; ¹⁴ and if thou dost walk in My ways to keep My statutes, and My commands, as David thy father walked, then I have prolonged thy days.' ¹⁵ And Solomon awaketh, and lo, a dream; and he cometh in to Jerusalem, and standeth before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and causeth to ascend burnt-offerings, and maketh peace-offerings. And he maketh a banquet for all his servants,

Solomon's Wisdom and Prosperity

¹⁶ then come in do two women, harlots, unto the king, and stand before him, ¹⁷ and the one woman saith, 'O, my lord, I and this woman are dwelling in one house, and I bring forth with her, in the house; ¹⁸ and it cometh to pass on the third day of my bringing forth, that this woman also bringeth forth, and we 'are' together, there is no stranger with us in the house, save we two, in the house. ¹⁹ And the son of this woman dieth at night, because she hath lain upon it, ²⁰ and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me—and thy handmaid is asleep—and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom; ²¹ and I rise in the morning to suckle my son, and lo, dead; and I consider concerning it in the morning, and lo, it was not my son whom I did bear.' ²² And the other woman saith, 'Nay, but my son 'is' the living, and thy son the dead;' and this 'one' saith, 'Nay, but thy son 'is' the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king. ²³ And the king saith, 'This 'one' saith, This 'is' my son, the living, and thy son 'is' the dead; and that 'one' saith, Nay, but thy son 'is' the dead, and my son the living.' ²⁴ And the king saith, 'Take for me a sword;' and they bring the sword before the king, ²⁵ and the king saith, 'Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.' ²⁶ And the woman whose son 'is' the living one saith unto the king (for her bowels yearned over her son), yea, she saith, 'O, my lord, give to her the living child, and put it not at all to death;' and this 'one' saith, 'Let it be neither mine or thine—cut 'it'.' ²⁷ And the king answereth and saith, 'Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she 'is' its mother.' ²⁸ And all Israel hear of the judgment that the king hath judged, and fear because of the king, for they have seen that the wisdom of God 'is' in his heart, to do judgment.

4¹ And king Solomon is king over all Israel, ² and these 'are' the heads whom he hath: Azariah son of Zadok 'is' the priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahiah sons of Shisha 'are' scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud 'is' remembrancer; ⁴ and Benaiah son of Jehoiada 'is' over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar 'are' priests; ⁵ and Azariah son of Nathan 'is' over the officers; and Zabud son of Nathan 'is' minister, friend of the king; ⁶ And Ahishar 'is' over the household, and Adoniram son of Abda 'is' over the tribute. ⁷ And Solomon hath twelve officers over all Israel, and they have sustained the king and his household—a month in the year is on each one for sustenance; ⁸ and these 'are' their names: Ben-Hur in the hill-country of Ephraim; ⁹ Ben-Dekar in Makaz, and Shaalbim, and Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan. ¹⁰ Ben-Hesed 'is' in Aruboth, hath Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; ¹¹ Ben-Abinadab 'hath' all the elevation of Dor, Taphath daughter of Solomon became his wife. ¹² Baana Ben-Ahilud 'hath' Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-Shean, which 'is' by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-Shean unto Abel-Meholah, unto beyond Jokneam. ¹³ Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead, hath the small towns of Jair son of Manasseh, which 'are' in Gilead; he hath a portion of Argob that 'is' in Bashan, sixty great cities 'with' wall and brazen bar. ¹⁴ Ahinadab son of Iddo 'hath' Mahanaim. ¹⁵ Ahimaaz 'is' in Naphtali; he also hath taken Basemath daughter of Solomon for a wife. ¹⁶ Baanah Ben-Hushai 'is' in Asher, and in Aloth. ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat Ben-Paruah 'is' in Issachar. ¹⁸ Shimei Ben-Elah 'is' in Benjamin. ¹⁹ Geber Ben-Uri 'is' in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorite, and of Og king of Bashan: and one officer who 'is' in the land.

²⁰ Judah and Israel 'are' many, as the sand that 'is' by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. ²¹ And Solomon hath been ruling over all the kingdoms, from the River 'to' the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt: they are bringing nigh a present, and serving Solomon, all days of his life. ²² And the provision of Solomon for one day is thirty cors of flour, and sixty cors of meal; ²³ ten fat oxen, and twenty feeding oxen, and a hundred sheep, apart from hart, and roe, and fallow-deer, and fatted beasts of the stalls, ²⁴ for he is ruling over all beyond the river, from Tiphsah and unto Gaza, over all the kings beyond the river, and he hath peace from all his servants round about. ²⁵ And Judah dwelleth—and Israel—in confidence, each under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, all the days of Solomon. ²⁶ And Solomon hath forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷ And these officers have sustained king Solomon and every one drawing near unto the table of king Solomon, each 'in' his month; they let nothing be lacking. ²⁸ And the barley and the straw, for horses and for dromedaries, they bring in unto the place where they are, each according to his ordinance.

²⁹ And God giveth wisdom to Solomon, and understanding, very much, and breadth of heart, as the sand that 'is' on the edge of the sea; ³⁰ and the wisdom of Solomon is greater than the wisdom of any of the sons of the east, and than all the wisdom of Egypt; ³¹ and he is wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol, and his name is in all the nations round about. ³² And he speaketh three thousand similes, and his songs 'are' five, and the chief one; ³³ and he speaketh concerning the trees, from the cedar that 'is' in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that is coming out in the wall, and he speaketh concerning the cattle, and concerning the fowl, and concerning the creeping things, and concerning the fishes, ³⁴ and there come out of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who have heard of his wisdom.

Solomon's Agreement with King Hiram

5¹ And Hiram king of Tyre sendeth his servants unto Solomon, for he heard that they had anointed him for king instead of his father, for Hiram was a lover of David all the days; ² and Solomon sendeth unto Hiram, saying, ³ 'Thou hast known David my father, that he hath not been able to build a house to the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars that have been round about him, till Jehovah's putting them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ 'And now, Jehovah my God hath given rest to me round about, there is no adversary nor evil occurrence, ⁵ and lo, I am saying to build a house to the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son whom I appoint in thy stead on thy throne, he doth build the house for My name. ⁶ 'And now, command, and they cut down for me cedars out of Lebanon, and my servants are with thy servants, and the hire of thy servants I give to thee according to all that thou sayest, for thou hast known that there is not among us a man acquainted with cutting wood, like the Sidonians.' ⁷ And it cometh to pass at Hiram's hearing the words of Solomon, that he rejoiceth exceedingly, and saith, 'Blessed 'is' Jehovah to-day, who hath given to David a wise son over this numerous people.' ⁸ And Hiram sendeth unto Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou hast sent unto me, I do all thy desire concerning cedar-wood, and fir-wood, ⁹ my servants bring down from Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea unto the place that thou sendest unto me, and I have spread them out there; and thou dost take 'them' up, and thou dost execute my desire, to give the food of my house.'

¹⁰ And Hiram is giving to Solomon cedar-trees, and fir-trees, all his desire, ¹¹ and Solomon hath given to Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat, food for his house, and twenty cors of beaten oil; thus doth Solomon give to Hiram year by year. ¹² And Jehovah hath given wisdom to Solomon as He spake to him, and there is peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they make a covenant both of them. ¹³ And king Solomon lifteth up a tribute out of all Israel, and the tribute is thirty thousand men, ¹⁴ and he sendeth them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, by changes, a month they are in Lebanon, two months in their own house; and Adoniram 'is' over the tribute. ¹⁵ And king Solomon hath seventy thousand bearing burdens, and eighty thousand hewing in the mountain, ¹⁶ apart from the heads of the officers of Solomon, who 'are' over the work, three thousand and three hundred, those ruling over the people who are working in the business. ¹⁷ And the king commandeth, and they bring great stones, precious stone, to lay the foundation of the house, hewn stones; ¹⁸ and the builders of Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Giblites hew, and prepare the wood and the stones to build the house.

Jesus' Authority Questioned

20¹ And it came to pass, on one of those days, as he is teaching the people in the temple, and proclaiming good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came upon 'him', ² and spake unto him, saying, 'Tell us by what authority thou dost these things? or who is he that gave to thee this authority?' ³ And he answering said unto them, 'I will question you—I also—one thing, and tell me: ⁴ the baptism of John, from heaven was it, or from men?' ⁵ And they reasoned with themselves, saying—'If we may say, From heaven, he will say, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him? ⁶ and if we may say, From men, all the people will stone us, for they are having been persuaded John to be a prophet.' ⁷ And they answered, that they knew not whence 'it was', ⁸ and Jesus said to them, 'Neither do I say to you by what authority I do these things.'

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen

⁹ And he began to speak unto the people this simile: 'A certain man planted a vineyard, and gave it out to husbandmen, and went abroad for a long time, ¹⁰ and at the season he sent unto the husbandmen a servant, that from the fruit of the vineyard they may give to him, but the husbandmen having beat him, did send 'him' away empty. ¹¹ 'And he added to send another servant, and they that one also having beaten and dishonoured, did send away empty; ¹² and he added to send a third, and this one also, having wounded, they did cast out. ¹³ 'And the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my son—the beloved, perhaps having seen this one, they will do reverence; ¹⁴ and having seen him, the husbandmen reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, we may kill him, that the inheritance may become ours; ¹⁵ and having cast him outside of the vineyard, they killed 'him'; what, then, shall the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come, and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.' And having heard, they said, 'Let it not be!' ¹⁷ and he, having looked upon them, said, 'What, then, is this that hath been written: A stone that the builders rejected—this became head of a corner? ¹⁸ every one who hath fallen on that stone shall be broken, and on whom it may fall, it will crush him to pieces.'

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹ And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him in that hour, and they feared the people, for they knew that against them he spake this simile.

²⁰ And, having watched 'him', they sent forth liers in wait, feigning themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his word, to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor, ²¹ and they questioned him, saying, 'Teacher, we have known that thou dost say and teach rightly, and dost not accept a person, but in truth the way of God dost teach; ²² Is it lawful to us to give tribute to Caesar or not?' ²³ And he, having perceived their craftiness, said unto them, 'Why me do ye tempt? ²⁴ shew me a denary; of whom hath it an image and superscription?' and they answering said, 'Of Caesar:' ²⁵ and he said to them, 'Give back, therefore, the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;' ²⁶ and they were not able to take hold on his saying before the people, and having wondered at his answer, they were silent.