Open English Translation 1 KI Chapter 4

4 So Shelomoh (Solomon) was king over all Yisrael (Israel), 2 and these were his officials:

Tsadok’s son Azaryah was the priest.

3 Shisha’s sons Elihoref and Ahiyah were secretaries.

Ahilud’s son Yehoshafat (Jehoshaphat) was the recorder.

4 Yehoyada’s son Benayah was the army commander.

Tsadok and Evyatar were priests.

5 Natan’s (Nathan) son Azaryah was supervisor of the governors,

and his son Zavud was a priest and adviser to the king.

6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace,

and Avda’s son Adoniram supervised the forced labourers.

7 Shelomoh (Solomon) appointed twelve governors over all Yisrael (Israel), and they sent in food for the palace—each governor was responsible for one month of the year. 8 Their names were:

Ben-Hur in the hill country of Efrayim (Ephraim),

9 Ben-Deker in Makats, Shaalvim, Beyt-Shemesh, and Eylon-Beyt-Hanan,

10 Ben-Hesed in Arubot, Sokoh, and all the land of Hefer,

11 Ben-Avinadav (who was married to Shelomoh’s daughter Tafat) in Nafat-Dor,

12 Ahilud’s son Ba’ana in Taanak and Megiddon and all Beyt-Shan next to Tseretan below Yizre’el (Jezreel), from Beyt-Shan to Avel-Meholah, as far as the other side of Yakemeam,

13 Ben-Gever in Ramot-Gilead, including the villages of Menasheh’s (Manasseh) son Yair that were in Gilead, as well as the Argov area in the Bashan region, and including sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate bars.

14 Iddo’s son Ahinadav in Mahanayim.

15 Ahimaats (who had married Shelomoh’s daughter Basemat) in Naftali (Naphtali),

16 Hushay’s son Ba’ana in Asher and Be’alot,

17 Paruah’s son Yehoshafat (Jehoshaphat) in Yisakar (Issachar),

18 Elah’s son Shimei in Benyamin (Benjamin),

19 Uri’s son Gever in the Gilead region, including the lands of the Amori King Sihon and King Og of the Bashan.

There was also one district governor over Yehudah (Judah).

20 Now Yehudah (Judah) and Yisrael (Israel) had become as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They had plenty to eat and drink and they were contented. 21 Shelomoh (Solomon) controlled all the kingdoms from the Perat (Euphrates) River to the land of the Pelishtim and as far as the Mitsri (Egyptian) border,[ref] so they brought tribute to him and followed his orders during his lifetime.

22 The daily requirements for the palace included five tonnes of fine flour and eleven tonnes of coarse flour, 23 ten fattened cattle, twenty pasture cattle, one hundred sheep, wild game including deer, gazelle, and roebuck, and fattened fowls.

24 He controlled all the kingdoms west of the Perat from Tifsah in the north-east to Azah (Gaza) in the south-west, and there was peace with all his neighbours. 25 So all Yehudah and Yisrael lived peacefully, from Dan in the north to Be’er-Sheva (Beersheba) in the south—everyone focusing on their own property.

26 Shelomoh had forty thousand stalls for his chariot horses, and twelve thousand horsemen.[ref] 27 The district governors provided supplies for the palace—one governor for each month. They ensured that nothing was lacking for the king and his visitors. 28 They also provided the barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses, delivered to the designated locations.

29 God gave Shelomoh (Solomon) wisdom and incredible understanding, and the breadth of his interests seemed without limit. 30 He was wiser than anyone in the countries east of Yisrael (Israel) or in Mitsrayim (Egypt). 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Eytan the Ezrahi[ref] and Mahol’s son Heyman and Kalkol and Darda, and his reputation spread to all the surrounding countries. 32 He could tell three thousand proverbs and he composed over a thousand songs.[ref] 33 He could lecture on plant life from the cedars in Levanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 People from all around came to listen to Shelomoh’s wisdom—many having been sent by other kings who’d heard about him.