1 And King Salomon was King ouer all Israel. 2 And these were his princes, Azariah the sonne of Zadok the Priest, 3 Elihoreph and Ahiah the sonnes of Shisha scribes, Iehoshaphat the sonne of Ahilud, the recorder, 4 And Benaiah the sonne of Iehoiada was ouer the hoste, and Zadok and Abiathar Priests, 5 And Azariah the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers, and Zabud the sonne of Nathan Priest was the Kings friend, 6 And Ahishar was ouer the houshold: and Adoniram the sonne of Abda was ouer the tribute. 7 And Salomon had twelue officers ouer all Israel, which prouided vitailes for the King and his housholde: eche man had a moneth in the yeere to prouide vitailes. 8 And these are their names: the sonne of Hur in mount Ephraim: 9 The sonne of Dekar in Makaz, and in Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh, and Elon and Beth-hanan: 10 The sonne of Hesed in Aruboth, to whom perteined Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11 The sonne of Abinadab in all the region of Dor, which had Taphath the daughter of Salomon to wife. 12 Baana the sonne of Ahilud in Taanach, and Megiddo, and in all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Izreel, from Beth-shean to Abelmeholah, eue til beyond ouer against Iokmeam: 13 The sonne of Geber in Ramoth Gilead, and his were the townes of Iair, the sonne of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and vnder him was the region of Argob, which is in Bashan: threescore great cities with walles and barres of brasse. 14 Ahinadab the sonne of Iddo had to Mahanaim: 15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali, and he tooke Basmath the daughter of Salomon to wife: 16 Baanah the sonne of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth: 17 Iehoshaphat the sonne of Paruah in Issachar. 18 Shimei the sonne of Elah in Beniamin: 19 Geber the sonne of Vri in the countrey of Gilead, the land of Sihon King of the Amorites, and of Og King of Bashan, and was officer alone in the land. 20 Iudah and Israel were many, as the sand of the sea in number, eating, drinking, and making merry. 21 And Salomon reigned ouer all kingdomes, from the Riuer vnto the lande of the Philistims, and vnto the border of Egypt, and they brought presents, and serued Salomon all the dayes of his life. 22 And Salomons vitailes for one day were thirtie measures of fine floure, and threescore measures of meale: 23 Ten fat oxen, and twentie oxen of the pastures, and an hundreth sheepe, beside hartes, and buckes, and bugles, and fat foule. 24 For he ruled in all the region on the other side of the Riuer, from Tiphsah euen vnto Azzah, ouer all the Kings on the other side the Riuer: and he had peace round about him on euery side. 25 And Iudah and Israel dwelt without feare, euery man vnder his vine, and vnder his fig tree, from Dan, euen to Beer-sheba, all the dayes of Salomon. 26 And Salomon had fourtie thousande stalles of horses for his charets, and twelue thousand horsemen. 27 And these officers prouided vitaile for king Salomon, and for all that came to King Salomons table, euery man his moneth, and they suffred to lacke nothing. 28 Barley also and strawe for the horses and mules brought they vnto the place where the officers were, euery man according to his charge. 29 And God gaue Salomon wisdome and vnderstanding exceeding much, and a large heart, euen as the sand that is on the sea shore, 30 And Salomons wisdome excelled the wisedome of all the children of the East and all the wisedome of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser then any man: yea, then were Ethan the Ezrahite, the Heman, then Chalcol, then Darda the sonnes of Mahol: and he was famous throughout all nations round about. 32 And Salomon spake three thousand prouerbs: and his songs were a thousand and fiue. 33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, euen vnto the hyssope that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of foules, and of creeping thinges, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all people to heare the wisedome of Salomon, from all Kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisedome.
Solomon's Officials
1-6 Here is a list of Solomon's highest officials while he was king of Israel:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were the secretaries;Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept the government records;Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander;Zadok and Abiathar were priests;Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the regional officers;Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's advisor;Ahishar was the prime minister;Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7 Solomon chose twelve regional officers, who took turns bringing food for him and his household. Each officer provided food from his region for one month of the year. 8 These were the twelve officers:
The son of Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
9 The son of Deker was in charge of the towns of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.
10 The son of Hesed was in charge of the towns of Arubboth and Socoh, and the region of Hepher.
11 The son of Abinadab was in charge of Naphath-Dor and was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.
12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo. He was also in charge of the whole region of Beth-Shan near the town of Zarethan, south of Jezreel from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah to the other side of Jokmeam.
13 The son of Geber was in charge of the town of Ramoth in Gilead and the villages in Gilead belonging to the family of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh. He was also in charge of the region of Argob in Bashan, which had 60 walled towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of the territory of Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz was in charge of the territory of Naphtali and was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath.
16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of the territory of Asher and the town of Bealoth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of the territory of Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of the territory of Benjamin.
19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of Gilead, where King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan had lived.
And one officer was in charge of the territory of Judah.
The Size of Solomon's Kingdom
20 There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.
21 Solomon ruled every kingdom between the Euphrates River and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.
22 Every day, Solomon needed 5,000 liters of fine flour, 10,000 liters of coarsely-ground flour, 23 10 grain-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.
24 Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all of the countries around him. 25 Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grape vines and fig trees.
26 Solomon had 40,000 stalls of chariot horses and 12,000 chariot soldiers.
27 Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed, 28 as well as barley and straw for the horses.
Solomon's Wisdom
29 Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. 30-31 He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel. 32 Solomon wrote 3,000 wise sayings and composed more than 1,000 songs. 33 He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.