Day 171 of 365

1 Kgs 3:1–4:34

3:1 Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem all around.

3:2 Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

3:3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

3:4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

3:5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you."

3:6 Solomon said, "You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you. You have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

3:7 Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.

3:8 Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can't be numbered nor counted for multitude.

3:9 Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people?"

3:10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

3:11 God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;

3:12 behold, I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like you.

3:13 I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you, all your days.

3:14 If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days."

3:15 Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

3:16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king, and stood before him.

3:17 The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house. I delivered a child with her in the house.

3:18 It happened the third day after I delivered, that this woman delivered also. We were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, just us two in the house.

3:19 This woman's child died in the night, because she lay on it.

3:20 She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

3:21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I bore."

3:22 The other woman said, "No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son." This said, "No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son." Thus they spoke before the king.

3:23 Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;' and the other says, 'No; but your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.'"

3:24 The king said, "Get me a sword." They brought a sword before the king.

3:25 The king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other."

3:26 Then the woman whose the living child was spoke to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill it!" But the other said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide it."

3:27 Then the king answered, "Give her the living child, and in no way kill it. She is its mother."

3:28 All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.

4:1 King Solomon was king over all Israel.

4:2 These were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;

4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;

4:4 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

4:5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king's friend;

4:6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

4:7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household: each man had to make provision for a month in the year.

4:8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

4:9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;

4:10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh, and all the land of Hepher);

4:11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife);

4:12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;

4:13 Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him belonged the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

4:14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

4:15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife);

4:16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;

4:17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

4:18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;

4:19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land.

4:20 Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.

4:21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

4:22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal,

4:23 ten head of fat cattle, and twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl.

4:24 For he had dominion over all on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River: and he had peace on all sides around him.

4:25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

4:26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

4:27 Those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking.

4:28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they to the place where the officers were, every man according to his duty.

4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and exceptional insight, and very great understanding, even as the sand that is on the seashore.

4:30 Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations all around.

4:32 He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand five.

4:33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fish.

4:34 There came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Acts 4:1–19

1 As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them,

2 being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening.

4 But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5 It happened in the morning, that their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.

6 Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest.

7 When they had stood them in the middle of them, they inquired, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people, and elders,

9 if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,

10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand here before you whole.

11 He is 'the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.'

12 And there is salvation in none other, for there is no other name under heaven, that is given among men by which we must be saved!"

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus.

14 Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

17 But so that this spreads no further among the people, let us threaten them, that from now on they do not speak to anyone in this name."

18 They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,

Eccl 8:1–10

1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

2 I say, "Keep the king's command!" because of the oath to God.

3 Do not be hasty to go out of his presence. Do not persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,

4 for the king's word is supreme. Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

5 Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.

6 For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.

7 For he doesn't know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?

8 There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.

9 All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.

10 So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.