Liber Primus Regum

I Regum, chapter 3, Vulgate and King James Version

Chapter 3 Vulgate

   1 Et affinitate coniunctus est pharaoni regi Aegypti. Accepit namque filiam eius et adduxit in civitatem David, donec compleret aedificans domum suam et domum Domini et murum Ierusalem per circuitum.
   2 Attamen populus immolabat in excelsis; non enim aedificatum erat templum nomini Domini usque in diem illum.
   3 Dilexit autem Salomon Dominum ambulans in praeceptis David patris sui, excepto quod in excelsis immolabat et accendebat thymiama.
   4 Abiit itaque in Gabaon, ut immolaret ibi; illud quippe erat excelsum maximum. Mille hostias in holocaustum obtulit Salomon super altare illud.
   5 In Gabaon apparuit Dominus Salomoni per somnium nocte dicens: "Postula quod vis, ut dem tibi".
   6 Et ait Salomon: "Tu fecisti cum servo tuo David patre meo misericordiam magnam, sicut ambulavit in conspectu tuo in veritate et iustitia et recto corde tecum; custodisti ei misericordiam tuam grandem et dedisti ei filium sedentem super thronum eius, sicut est hodie.
   7 Et nunc, Domine Deus meus, tu regnare fecisti servum tuum pro David patre meo. Ego autem sum puer parvus et ignorans egressum et introitum meum;
   8 et servus tuus in medio est populi, quem elegisti, populi infiniti, qui numerari et supputari non potest prae multitudine.
   9 Da ergo servo tuo cor docile, ut iudicare possit populum tuum et discernere inter bonum et malum. Quis enim potest iudicare populum tuum hunc multum?".
   10 Placuit ergo sermo coram Domino quod Salomon rem huiuscemodi postulasset,
   11 et dixit Deus Salomoni: "Quia postulasti verbum hoc et non petisti tibi dies multos nec divitias aut animam inimicorum tuorum, sed postulasti tibi sapientiam ad discernendum iudicium,
   12 ecce feci tibi secundum sermones tuos et dedi tibi cor sapiens et intellegens, in tantum ut nullus ante te similis tui fuerit nec post te surrecturus sit;
   13 sed et haec, quae non postulasti, dedi tibi, divitias scilicet et gloriam, ut nemo fuerit similis tui in regibus cunctis diebus tuis.
   14 Si autem ambulaveris in viis meis et custodieris praecepta mea et mandata mea, sicut ambulavit David pater tuus, longos faciam dies tuos".
   15 Igitur evigilavit Salomon et intellexit quod esset somnium. Cumque venisset Ierusalem, stetit coram arca foederis Domini et obtulit holocausta et fecit victimas pacificas et convivium universis famulis suis.
   16 Tunc venerunt duae mulieres meretrices ad regem steteruntque coram eo.
   17 Quarum una ait: "Obsecro, mi domine; ego et mulier haec habitabamus in domo una, et peperi apud eam in domo;
   18 tertia vero die, postquam ego peperi, peperit et haec; et eramus simul, nullusque alius nobiscum in domo, exceptis nobis duabus.
   19 Mortuus est autem filius mulieris huius nocte; dormiens quippe oppressit eum.
   20 Et consurgens intempesta nocte, silentio tulit filium meum de latere meo ancillae tuae dormientis et collocavit in sinu suo; suum autem filium, qui erat mortuus, posuit in sinu meo.
   21 Cumque surrexissem mane, ut darem lac filio meo, apparuit mortuus; quem diligentius intuens clara luce, deprehendi non esse meum, quem genueram".
   22 Responditque altera mulier: "Non est ita, sed filius meus vivit, tuus autem mortuus est". E contrario illa dicebat: "Mentiris. Filius quippe tuus mortuus est, meus autem vivit". Atque in hunc modum contendebant coram rege.
   23 Tunc rex ait: "Haec dicit: "Filius meus vivit, et filius tuus mortuus est"; et ista respondit: "Non, sed filius tuus mortuus est, et filius meus vivit" ".
   24 Dixit ergo rex: "Afferte mihi gladium!". Cumque attulissent gladium coram rege:
   25" Dividite, inquit, infantem vivum in duas partes, et date dimidiam partem uni et dimidiam partem alteri".
   26 Dixit autem mulier, cuius filius erat vivus, ad regem - commota sunt quippe viscera eius super filio suo -: "Obsecro, domine, date illi infantem vivum et nolite interficere eum". E contrario illa dicebat: "Nec mihi nec tibi sit; dividatur".
   27 Respondens rex ait: "Date huic infantem vivum, et non occidatur; haec est mater eius".
   28 Audivit itaque omnis Israel iudicium, quod iudicasset rex; et timuerunt regem videntes sapientiam Dei esse in eo ad faciendum iudicium.

Source: Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio, Sacrosanti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II, Ratione Habita, Iussu Pauli PP. VI Recognita, Auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II Promulgata, Editio Typica Altera

King James Version

   1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
   2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.
   3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
   4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
   5 ¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
   6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
   7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
   8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
   9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
   10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
   11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
   12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
   13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
   14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
   15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
   16 ¶ Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
   17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
   18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
   19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
   20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
   21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
   22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
   23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
   24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
   25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
   26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
   27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
   28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.