1 Kings 4

1 So King [ruling with divine authority] Solomon [a king of peace] ruled [reigned, was in charge] over [having authority upon] Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people], word study 2 and these [specific, notable] were his chief officials [princes, rulers]: Azariah [a leader’s name, meaning ‘God has helped’] son [descendant, offspring] of Zadok [a righteous, just priest] was the priest [a spiritual leader, mediator between God and people]; word study 3 Elihoreph [God of winter] and Ahijah [brother of Jehovah], the sons [descendants] of Shisha, were secretaries [scribes, recorders]; Jehoshaphat [Jehovah has judged] son of Ahilud was the recorder [one who remembers, remembrancer]; word study 4 Benaiah [a strong warrior and leader] son of Jehoiada [Jehovah knows] was in charge of the army [a large group of people or things]; Zadok [righteous] and Abiathar [faithful follower] were priests [those who serve God and lead others in worship]; word study 5 Azariah [son of the prophet] son of Nathan was in charge of the governors [officials, administrators]; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest [spiritual leader, mediator] and adviser [counselor, friend] to the king [ruler, monarch]; word study 6 Ahishar [chief steward, supervisor of the king’s household] was in charge of the palace [the king’s house, royal residence]; and Adoniram [my Lord is exalted] son of Abda [servant of Jehovah] was in charge of the forced labor [tribute, taskwork, men subject to labor as a form of tax]. word study 7 Solomon [the king of peace] had twelve governors [officers, overseers, or area governors] over all [the entire nation of] Israel to provide [sustain, support, or supply] food [victuals, provisions, or necessities] for the king [the monarch, ruler, or sovereign] and his household [family, palace, or royal court]. Each one [individually, one at a time] would arrange [make provision, provide, or sustain] provisions [food, supplies, or victuals] for one month [a lunar cycle, or a period of time] of the year [a period of twelve months, or a cycle of time], word study 8 and these [specific individuals, the following] were their names: Ben-hur [son of whiteness, son of Hur] in the hill country [mountainous region, highlands] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel]; word study 9 Ben-deker [son of stabbing, a leader] in Makaz [a place of boundary], in Shaalbim [the place of foxes], in Beth-shemesh [house of the sun, a sun-temple], and in Elon-beth-hanan [oak of the house of grace, a city in Dan]; word study 10 Ben-hesed [son of mercy, the officer] in Arubboth [a region with windows, a place of insight] (Socoh [a town in the lowlands, a place of abundance] and all [everything, the whole] the land [earth, territory, a country] of Hepher [a well, a source of life] belonged to him); word study 11 Ben-abinadab [son of Abinadab, an officer] in Naphath-dor [all the region of Dor, a lofty place] (Taphath [ornament], a daughter [female child] of Solomon [king of Israel], was his wife [woman, female partner]); word study 12 Baana [son of affliction] son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all [every part] of Beth-shean [house of ease] next to [beside, near] Zarethan [a place of crossing] below [underneath, in the valley of] Jezreel [God sows, a fertile valley], from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah [a city of dance, a place of assembly] and on past [beyond, across from] Jokmeam [a place gathered by the people]; word study 13 Ben-geber [son of Geber, a leader] in Ramoth-gilead [a city east of the Jordan] (the villages [small towns, communities] of Jair [he enlightens, a judge] son of Manasseh [a tribe of Israel] in Gilead [a mountainous region] belonged to him, as well as the region [district, area] of Argob [a fertile land] in Bashan [a fruitful territory] with its sixty [a large number, numerous] great [large, important] cities [towns, communities] with walls [fortifications, barriers] and bronze [made of copper, strong] bars [gates, locks]); word study 14 Ahinadab [my brother, a name signifying brotherly love] son [a descendant, offspring] of Iddo [a prophetic name] in [having responsibility for, overseeing] Mahanaim [two camps, a place of divine encounter, east of the Jordan River]; word study 15 Ahimaaz [my brother is anger, a supply officer] in Naphtali [a son of Jacob, founder of a tribe] (he had married [taken as a wife, to take] Basemath [an Arab woman], a daughter [a female child, a woman] of Solomon [a king of Israel]); word study 16 Baana [son of sorrow, in affliction] son [descendant, offspring] of Hushai [the Archite, friend of King David] in Asher [the eighth tribe of Israel] and in Aloth [Bealoth, mistresses, a town in south Judah]; word study 17 Jehoshaphat [son of God, Jehova’s gift] son [descendant, offspring] of Paruah [father of Jehoshaphat, Israelite leader] in [within the territory of, belonging to] Issachar [the 9th son of Jacob, tribe of recompense]; word study 18 Shimei [son of the right hand, a common Israelite name] son [descendant, offspring] of Ela [an Israelite leader, father of Shimei] in Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel, the youngest son of Jacob]; word study 19 Geber [son and descendant] son of Uri in the land [territory, region] of Gilead, including the territories [countries, areas] of Sihon [a former Amorite king] king of the Amorites [a Canaanite tribe] and of Og [a powerful giant] king of Bashan [a fertile region]. There was also one governor [officer, overseer] in the land [country, territory] of Judah. word study 20 The people of Judah [a tribe of God’s chosen] and Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] were as numerous [many, abundant] as the sand [round or whirling particles, like grains of sand on the seashore] on the seashore [by the Mediterranean Sea or a large body of water], and they were eating [devouring, consuming] and drinking [feasting, taking in] and rejoicing [being glad, joyful]. word study 21 And Solomon reigned [ruled, was king] over all the kingdoms [nations, realms] from the Euphrates [River] to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border [edge, territory] of Egypt. These kingdoms [nations, peoples] offered tribute [presents, gifts] and served Solomon all the days [entire lifetime, years] of his life. word study 22 Solomon’s provisions [supplies, food] for a single day [each day] were thirty cors [measures, units] of fine flour [best flour, crushed grain], sixty cors [measures, units] of meal [grain, flour], word study 23 ten fat oxen [cattle, bulls], twenty range oxen [cattle, pasturing cattle], and a hundred sheep [lambs, flock], as well as deer [harts, stags], gazelles [roe deer, antelopes], roebucks [bucks, male deer], and fattened poultry [fowl, birds]. word study 24 For Solomon had dominion [authority, rule] over everything [all] west of the Euphrates —over all the kingdoms [regions, territories] from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace [tranquility, harmony] on all sides [around him, about him]. word study 25 Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely [safely, in confidence] from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine [grapevine] and his own fig tree. word study 26 Solomon had 4,000 stalls [spaces, enclosures] for his chariot horses [horses for his chariots, horses for his carriages] and 12,000 horses [horsemen, charioteers]. word study 28 Each one also brought to the required place [designated location, appointed place] their quotas [amounts, shares] of barley [grain, cereal] and straw [hay, fodder] for the chariot horses [war horses, cavalry horses] and other horses [swift steeds, riding horses]. word study 29 And God [Elohim, the Creator] gave Solomon wisdom [insight, discernment], exceedingly deep [very much, abundant] insight, and understanding [discernment, comprehension] beyond measure [exceeding much, as vast as], like the sand [grains, particles] on the seashore [shoreline, coast]. word study 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater [superior, excelled] than that of all the men [children, people] of the East [eastern wise men], greater than all the wisdom of Egypt [the Egyptians]. word study 31 He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame [reputation, name] spread throughout [in all] the surrounding nations [countries, peoples]. word study 32 Solomon composed three thousand proverbs [wise sayings, maxims], and his songs numbered [were, amounted to] a thousand and five. word study 33 He spoke of trees [plants, vegetation], from the cedar [tree] in Lebanon to the hyssop [that springeth] growing in the wall, and he taught about animals [beasts, creatures], birds, reptiles [creeping things, creeping creatures], and fish [aquatic life]. word study 34 So men [people, individuals] of all nations [peoples] came to listen [hear, pay attention] to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings [rulers, leaders] of the earth, who had heard [received word, been informed] of his wisdom. word study