10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, Lord, the
God of our father Israel, from
everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and
the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for
everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you
are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come
from you; you
are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to
exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give
you thanks, and
praise your glorious name.
So
King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2 And these were his chief
officials:
Azariah
son of Zadok—the priest;
3 Elihoreph
and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;
Jehoshaphat
son of Ahilud—recorder;
4 Benaiah
son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;
Zadok
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;
Adoniram
son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.
7 Solomon
had twelve district governors 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 of Ephraim;
9 Ben-Deker—in
Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan;
10 Ben-Hesed—in
Arubboth (Sokoh and all the land of Hepher were his);
11 Ben-Abinadab—in
Naphoth Dor (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);
12 Baana
son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan
below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across to Jokmeam;
13 Ben-Geber—in
Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as
well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with
bronze gate bars);
14 Ahinadab
son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz—in
Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana
son of Hushai—in Asher and in Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat
son of Paruah—in Issachar;
18 Shimei
son of Ela—in Benjamin;
19 Geber
son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country
of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.
20 The
people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they
ate, they drank and they were happy. 21 And Solomon ruled over
all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as
far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s
subjects all his life.
22 Solomon’s
daily provisions 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. 24 For
he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to
Gaza, and had peace on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime
Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their
own vine and under their own fig tree.
26 Solomon
had four[c] thousand
stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.[d]
27 The
district governors, 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.
29 God
gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as
measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom
was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all
the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser 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 and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He
spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop 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 of
the world, who had heard of his wisdom.
