1 Kings 3:3

3:3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following¹ the practices² of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

1 Kings 3:5-11

3:5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared³ to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell⁴ me what I should give you.” 3:6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated⁵ great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served⁶ you faithfully, properly, and sincerely.⁷ You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.⁸ 3:7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.⁹ 3:8 Your servant stands¹⁰ among your chosen people;¹¹ they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 3:9 So give your servant a discerning mind¹² so he can make judicial decisions for¹³ your people and distinguish right from wrong.¹⁴ Otherwise¹⁵ no one is able¹⁶ to make judicial decisions for¹⁷ this great nation of yours.”¹⁸ 3:10 The Lord¹⁹ was pleased that Solomon made this request.²⁰ 3:11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,²¹

¹tn Heb “Solomon loved the Lord by walking in.”

²tn Or “policies, rules.”

³tn Or “revealed himself.”

⁴tn Heb “ask.”

⁵tn Heb “did.”

⁶tn Heb “walked before.”

⁷tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.”

⁸tn Heb “and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day.”

⁹tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”

¹⁰tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹¹tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”

¹²tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

¹³tn Heb “to judge.”

¹⁴tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”

¹⁵tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.

¹⁶tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

¹⁷tn Heb “to judge.”

¹⁸tn Heb “your numerous people.”

¹⁹tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

²⁰tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”

²¹tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.”