1So King Solomon ruled over the whole nation of Israel.2Here are the names of his chief officials. Azariah was the priest. He was the son of Zadok.3Elihoreph and Ahijah were secretaries. They were the sons of Shisha. Jehoshaphat kept the records. He was the son of Ahilud.4Benaiah was the commander-in-chief. He was the son of Jehoiada. Zadok and Abiathar were priests.5Azariah was in charge of the local governors. He was the son of Nathan. Zabud was a priest. He was also the king’s adviser. He was the son of Nathan.6Ahishar was in charge of the palace. Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work for the king. He was the son of Abda.7Solomon had 12 local governors over the whole land of Israel. They provided supplies for the king and the royal family. Each governor had to provide supplies for one month out of each year.8Here are their names and areas. Ben-Hur’s area was the hill country of Ephraim.9Ben-Deker’s area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan.10Ben-Hesed’s area was Arubboth. Sokoh and the whole land of Hepher were included in his area.11Ben-Abinadab’s area was Naphoth Dor. He married Solomon’s daughter Taphath.12Baana’s area was Taanach, Megiddo and the whole territory of Beth Shan. Beth Shan was next to Zarethan below Jezreel. Baana’s area reached from Beth Shan all the way to Abel Meholah. It also went across to Jokmeam. Baana was the son of Ahilud.13Ben-Geber’s area was Ramoth Gilead. The settlements of Jair, the son of Manasseh, were included in his area in Gilead. The area of Argob in Bashan was also included. That area had 60 large cities that had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy bronze bars.14Ahinadab’s area was Mahanaim. He was the son of Iddo.15Ahimaaz’s area was Naphtali. He had married Basemath. She was Solomon’s daughter.16Baana’s area was Asher and Aloth. He was the son of Hushai.17Jehoshaphat’s area was Issachar. He was the son of Paruah.18Shimei’s area was Benjamin. He was the son of Ela.19Geber’s area was Gilead. He was the only governor over the area. He was the son of Uri. Gilead had been the country of Sihon and Og. Sihon had been king of the Amorites. Og had been king of Bashan.
Solomon’s daily supplies
20There were many people in Judah and Israel. In fact, they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. They ate, drank and were happy.21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates to the land of the Philistines. He ruled as far as the border of Egypt. All those countries brought the gifts he required them to bring him. And Solomon ruled over those countries for his whole life.22Here are the supplies Solomon required every day. 4.5 tonnes of the finest flour 9 tonnes of meal23ten oxen that had been fed by hand 20 oxen that had been fed on grasslands 100 sheep and goats deer, antelopes and roebucks the finest birds24Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms that were west of the River Euphrates. He ruled from Tiphsah all the way to Gaza. And he had peace and rest on every side.25While Solomon was king, Judah and Israel lived in safety. They were secure from Dan all the way to Beersheba. Everyone had their own vine and their own fig tree.26Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his chariot horses. He had a total of 12,000 horses.27The local governors provided supplies for King Solomon. They provided them for all who ate at the king’s table. Each governor provided supplies for one month every year. The governors made sure the king had everything he needed.28They also brought barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. Each of the governors brought the amounts required of them. They brought them to the proper places.
God makes Solomon very wise
29God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn’t even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can’t measure that either.30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east. It was greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.31Solomon was wiser than anyone else. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all the nations around him.32He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs.33He spoke about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He spoke about animals and birds. He also spoke about reptiles and fish.34The kings of all the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.
1-2Salomo härskade över hela Israel. Dessa var hans närmaste män: Asarja, Sadoks son, var överstepräst.3-6Elihoref och Ahia, Sisas söner, var sekreterare. Josafat, Ahiluds son, hade ansvar för arkiven. Benaja, Jojadas son, var överbefälhavare för armén. Sadok och Ebjatar var präster. Asarja, Natans son, var ansvarig för de tolv distriktens styresmän. Sabud, Natans son, var kungens präst och personlige rådgivare. Ahisar hade hand om palatsets affärer. Adoniram, Abdas son, hade ansvaret för de offentliga arbetena.7Det fanns också tolv tjänstemän vid Salomos hov, var och en tillsatt som styresman över en del av landet. Deras uppgift var att under en månad var försörja hovet med vad som behövdes av mat och för dess underhåll.8-19Namnen på dessa tolv styresmän och deras respektive områden var: Ben-Hur över Efraims bergsbygd. Ben-Deker över Makas, Saalbim, Bet-Semes och Elon-Bet-Hanan. Ben-Hesed över Arubbot, som också innefattade Soko och hela Hefer-landet. Ben-Abinadab (gift med Salomos dotter Tafat), över Nafat-Dor. Baana, Ahiluds son, över Taanak och Megiddo, hela den del av Bet-Sean som ligger vid sidan av Saretan, nedanför Jisreel, och hela trakten från Bet-Sean ända till Abel-Mehola och bortom Jokmeam. Ben-Geber över Ramot i Gilead, vilket innefattade Jairs byar (den Jair som var son till Manasse) i Gilead, och dessutom området Argob i Basan, med sextio stora städer med murar och kopparportar. Ahinadab, Iddos son, över Mahanaim. Ahimaas (han som hade gift sig med Basemat, en annan av Salomos döttrar) över Naftali. Baana, Husais son, över Aser och Alot. Josafat, Paruas son, över Isaskar. Simei, Elas son, över Benjamin. Geber, Uris son, över Gilead med de områden som hade tillhört Sihon, amoreernas kung, och Og, kungen i Basan.
Salomos välde
20Israel och Juda hade många invånare och stora rikedomar, och folket åt och drack och var nöjda.21Kung Salomo regerade över hela området från floden Eufrat ända till filisteernas land och ner till Egyptens gräns. Folken i de ockuperade områdena betalade skatt till Salomo och de fortsatte att tjäna honom så länge han levde.22För försörjningen i palatset behövdes dagligen 5.000 liter fint mjöl och dubbelt så mycket vanligt mjöl,23tio gödda oxar, tjugo valloxar och hundra får och getter, förutom hjort, gasell, dovhjort och fågel.24Salomos välde sträckte sig över alla riken väster om floden Eufrat, från Tifsa till Gasa, och landet hade fred.25Under hela Salomos livstid levde Juda och Israel i fred, och varje familj levde i trygghet med eget hus och trädgård.26Salomo ägde 4.000 vagnshästar och 12.000 ridhästar.27Varje månad försåg styresmannen över ett av de tolv distrikten Salomo och hans hov med mat,28och de ansvarade också för att hästarna fick sitt foder.
Salomo blir berömd för sin vishet
29Gud gav Salomo stor vishet och mycket förstånd, och hans kunskap tycktes inte ha några gränser.30Han var visare än de visaste i Östern och Egypten.31Han var visare än esraiten Etan, och visare än någon av Mahols söner Heman, Kalkol och Darda. Ryktet om honom spred sig till länderna runt omkring.32Han kände till 3.000 ordspråk och 1.005 sånger.33Han kunde förklara växternas liv, alltifrån Libanons cedrar till den lilla isopen, som tränger fram i murarnas springor. Han undervisade om allt slags djur- och fågelliv, om kräldjur och vattendjur.34Kungar i många länder skickade sina sändebud till Salomo för att få råd av honom.