1 Kings 3:9-12

3:9 So give your servant a discerning mind ¹  so he can make judicial decisions for ²  your people and distinguish right from wrong. ³  Otherwise ⁴  no one is able ⁵  to make judicial decisions for ⁶  this great nation of yours.” ⁷  3:10 The Lord ⁸  was pleased that Solomon made this request. ⁹  3:11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, ¹⁰  3:12 I ¹¹  grant your request, ¹²  and give ¹³  you a wise and discerning mind ¹⁴  superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. ¹⁵ 

1 Kings 3:2

3:2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, ¹⁶  because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. ¹⁷ 

1 Kings 1:10

1:10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the elite warriors, ¹⁸  or his brother Solomon.

Psalms 72:1

Psalm 72 ¹⁹ 

For ²⁰  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ²¹ 

Grant the king’s son ²²  the ability to make fair decisions! ²³ 

Proverbs 2:6-7

2:6 For ²⁴  the Lord gives ²⁵  wisdom,

and from his mouth ²⁶  comes ²⁷  knowledge and understanding.

2:7 He stores up ²⁸  effective counsel ²⁹  for the upright, ³⁰ 

and is like ³¹  a shield ³²  for those who live ³³  with integrity, ³⁴ 

Luke 21:15

21:15 For I will give you the words ³⁵  along with the wisdom ³⁶  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

James 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

[3:9]  ² tn Heb “to judge.”

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

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “to judge.”

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “your numerous people.”

[3:10]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.”

[3:12]  ¹¹ tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.

[3:12]  ¹² tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.

[3:12]  ¹³ tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

[3:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”

[3:2]  ¹⁶ sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).

[72:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ²⁰ tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ²² sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[2:6]  ²⁴ tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the Lord is that he is the source of true, effectual wisdom.

[2:6]  ²⁵ tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.

[2:6]  ²⁶ sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the Lord is the immediate source or author of the wisdom. It is worth noting that in the incarnation many of these “anthropomorphisms” become literal in the person of the Logos, the Word, Jesus, who reveals the Father.

[2:6]  ²⁷ tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[2:7]  ²⁸ tc The form is a Kethib/Qere reading. The Kethib וְצָפַן (vÿtsafan; Qal perfect + vav consecutive) is supported by the LXX and Syriac. The Qere יִצְפֹּן (yitspon; Qal imperfect) is supported by the Aramaic Targum of Prov 2:7 (the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew scriptures were called Targums) and Latin Vulgate. Internal evidence favors the imperfect; another imperfect appears in v. 6a with a similar sense. The Qere is normally preferred; the scribes are indicating that the received reading is corrupt. The Kethib reflects orthographic confusion between י (yod) and ו (vav). As in v. 6a, this Qal imperfect functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in past, present and future.

[2:7]  ²⁹ tn The noun תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “sound wisdom” (so KJV, NRSV); “effective counsel” and (2) result (metonymy of effect): “abiding success” (BDB 444 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 388; cf. NIV “victory”). It refers to competent wisdom and its resultant ability to achieve moral success (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 80).

[2:7]  ³⁰ sn The Hebrew word translated “upright” (יָשָׁר, yashar) is one of the terms used for the righteous. It points to the right conduct of the believer – that which is right or pleasing in the eyes of God. It stresses that the life of the individual is upright, straightforward, and just. It is paralleled with “those who walk in integrity.”

[2:7]  ³¹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[2:7]  ³² tn The word can be taken as in apposition explaining the subject of the first colon – the Lord is a shield, the Lord stores up. The word then is a metaphor for the protection afforded by the Lord.

[2:7]  ³³ tn Heb “walk.” The verb “to walk” (הָלַךְ, halakh) is an idiom (based upon hypocatastasis: implied comparison) for habitual manner of life (BDB 234 s.v. 3.e).

[2:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “those who walk of integrity.” The noun תֹם (tom, “integrity”) functions as a genitive of manner.

[21:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

[21:15]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and wisdom.”