1 Kings, Chapter 4:

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Verses from 1 Kings, Chapter 4 of the book of 1 Samuel of the Bible.

1 Kings - Old Testament — 1 Kings – Old Testament

Solomon's officers and governors

1. Thus, Solomon became king over all Israel, consolidating his reign.
2. His main advisors were: Azariah, son of Zadok, as priest;
3. Elioreph and Ahijah, the sons of Sisha, as secretaries; Jehoshaphat, son of Ailude, as royal archivist;
4. Benaiah son of Jehoiada as commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar, as priests;
5. Azariah, son of Nathan, responsible for district governors; Zabud, son of Nathan, as priest and personal advisor to the king;
6. Aisar, responsible for the palace; Adoniram, son of Abda, as head of forced labor.
7. Solomon also had twelve district governors throughout Israel, who provided provisions for the king and the royal palace. Each of them was responsible for providing supplies for one month of the year.
8. These were their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim;
9. Ben-deker, in Macaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh and Elon-Beth-hanan;
10. Ben-Hesed, in Aruboth, Socho, and in all the land of Hepher;
11. Ben-Abinadab, in Naphoth-dor. Tafath, Solomon's daughter, was his wife;
12. Baanah the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and in Megiddo, and in all Beth-shean, near Zarethan, below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, beyond the borders of Jocmaeon;
13. Ben-Geder, in Ramoth-gilead, and in the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead, beyond the district of Argob, in Bashan, and in its sixty great cities fortified with bars of bronze;
14. Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15. Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. He married Basemath, daughter of Solomon;
16. Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17. Jehoshaphat, son of Parua, in Issachar;
18. Shimei the son of Elah in Benjamin;
19. Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, including the territory of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, he was the only governor of that region.
20. The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Everyone enjoyed the abundance, eating, drinking and being happy.
21. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms, from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. The kingdoms brought tribute and were subject to Solomon throughout his life.
22. Solomon received daily thirty barrels of fine flour and sixty barrels of common flour,
23. ten oxen fattened in the stable, twenty oxen fattened in the pasture, and one hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, hinds, and choice birds.
24. He ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates, from Typhsa to Gaza, and enjoyed peace on all his borders.
25. During the reign of Solomon, Judah and Israel lived in security, each under his own vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba.
26. Solomon had four thousand stables for war horses and twelve thousand horses.
27. The district governors provided provisions for King Solomon and everyone who came to eat at his table. They made sure nothing was missing.
28. In addition, each person brought their monthly contributions of barley and straw for the war horses and the other horses.

Solomon's wisdom

29. God gave Solomon extraordinary wisdom and discernment, and knowledge as vast as the sand of the sea.
30. Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of the Egyptians.
31. He was wiser than any other man, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame spread to all the surrounding nations.
32. Solomon composed three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.
33. He described the plants, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on the walls. He also discussed animals, from quadrupeds to birds, reptiles and fish.
34. People from all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all the kings who had heard of his wisdom.