1 Kings 3:5-9

3:5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared¹ to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell² me what I should give you.” 3:6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated³ great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served⁴ you faithfully, properly, and sincerely.⁵ You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.⁶ 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.⁷ 3:8 Your servant stands⁸ among your chosen people;⁹ they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 3:9 So give your servant a discerning mind¹⁰ so he can make judicial decisions for¹¹ your people and distinguish right from wrong.¹² Otherwise¹³ no one is able¹⁴ to make judicial decisions for¹⁵ this great nation of yours.”¹⁶

¹tn Or “revealed himself.”

²tn Heb “ask.”

³tn Heb “did.”

⁴tn Heb “walked before.”

⁵tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.”

⁶tn 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.”

⁷tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”

⁸tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁹tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”

¹⁰tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

¹¹tn Heb “to judge.”

¹²tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”

¹³tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.

¹⁴tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

¹⁵tn Heb “to judge.”

¹⁶tn Heb “your numerous people.”