1 Kings 3:23-28

3:23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 3:24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword!” So they placed a sword before the king. 3:25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 3:26 The real mother ¹  spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. ²  She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!” ³  But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!” 3:27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 3:28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected ⁴  the king, for they realized ⁵  that he possessed supernatural wisdom ⁶  to make judicial decisions.

[3:26]  ¹ tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”

[3:26]  ² tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”

[3:26]  ³ tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.

[3:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.”

[3:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[3:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.”