Open English Translation 1KI Chapter 4

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

Tsadok’s son Azaryahu was the priest.

3 Shisha’s sons Elihoref and Ahiyyah were secretaries.

Ahilud’s son Yehoshafat was the recorder.

4 Yehoyada’s son Benayah was the army commander.

Tsadok and Evyatar were priests.

5 Natan’s son Azaryahu 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 appointed twelve governors over all 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 Efraim,

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

12 Ahilud’s son Baana in Taanak and Megiddo and all Beyt-Shan next to Tsaretan below Yezreel, from Beyt-Shan to Abel-Meholah, as far as the other side of Yokmeam,

13 Ben-Geber in Ramot-Gilead, including the villages of Manashsheh’s 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,

16 Hushai’s son Baana in Asher and Bealot,

17 Paruah’s son Yehoshafat in Yissashkar,

18 Ela’s son Shimei in Benyamin,

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

There was also one district governor over Yehudah.

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

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 Euphrates from Tifsah in the north-east to Gaza in the south-west, and there was peace with all his neighbours. 25 So all Yehudah and Israel lived peacefully, from Dan in the north to Beersheva 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 wisdom and incredible understanding, and the breadth of his interests seemed without limit. 30 He was wiser than anyone in the countries east of Israel or in Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Eytan the Ezrahite and Mahol’s son Heman and Kalkol and Darda, and his reputation spread to all the surrounding countries.[ref] 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 Lebanon 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.