1 Kings 3:5-10

3:5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared ¹  to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell ²  me what I should give you.” 3:6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated ³  great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served ⁴  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 stands ⁸  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 mind ¹⁰  so he can make judicial decisions for ¹¹  your people and distinguish right from wrong. ¹²  Otherwise ¹³  no one is able ¹⁴  to make judicial decisions for ¹⁵  this great nation of yours.” ¹⁶  3:10 The Lord ¹⁷  was pleased that Solomon made this request. ¹⁸ 

[3:5]  ¹ tn Or “revealed himself.”

[3:5]  ² tn Heb “ask.”

[3:6]  ³ tn Heb “did.”

[3:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “walked before.”

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.”

[3:6]  ⁶ tn 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.”

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”

[3:8]  ⁸ tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to judge.”

[3:9]  ¹² tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”

[3:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[3:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to judge.”

[3:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your numerous people.”

[3:10]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”