1 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own palace, the house of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were sacrificing at the high places, because a house for the name of the LORD had not yet been built.

3 Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 Solomon said, “You have shown great faithful love to your servant David, my father, as he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward you. You have kept this great faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as he does today. 7 Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a child and do not know how to conduct myself. 8 Your servant is among your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 So give your servant a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish good from evil. For who can judge this great people of yours?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked for this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked for this, and have not asked for long life or riches for yourself, or for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for discernment to hear a case, 12 I will do as you have asked. I give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, and no one like you will arise after you. 13 I also give you what you have not asked for: both riches and honor, so that throughout your days no other king will be like you. 14 And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and commandments as your father David did, I will prolong your life.”

15 Solomon awoke and realized it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants.

16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was there in the house. 18 On the third day after I gave birth, this woman gave birth too. We were together, with no one else in the house; only the two of us were there. 19 This woman’s son died during the night because she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while I, your servant, was sleeping. She laid him in her arms and laid her dead son in mine. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, he was dead. But when I looked closely at him that morning, he was not the son I had borne.” 22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is yours.” But the first said, “No! The dead one is your son, and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king. 23 The king said, “This one says, ‘The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours,’ and this one says, ‘No! The dead one is your son, and the living one is mine.’ ”

24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 The king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other.” 26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved with compassion for her son. She said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living child! Do not kill him!” But the other said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!” 27 The king answered, “Give her the living child, and do not kill him. She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard of the judgment the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they saw that God’s wisdom was in him to administer justice.