⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared^(A) to Solomon during the night in a dream,^(B) and God said, “Ask^(C) for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁶ Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful^(D) to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son^(E) to sit on his throne this very day.

⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child^(F) and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen,^(G) a great people, too numerous to count or number.^{(H) 9} So give your servant a discerning^(I) heart to govern your people and to distinguish^(J) between right and wrong. For who is able^(K) to govern this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked^(L) for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment^(M) in administering justice, ¹² I will do what you have asked.^(N) I will give you a wise^(O) and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. ¹³ Moreover, I will give you what you have not^(P) asked for—both wealth and honor^(Q)—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal^(R) among kings. ¹⁴ And if you walk^(S) in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”^{(T) 15} Then Solomon awoke^(U)—and he realized it had been a dream.^(V)

He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings^(W) and fellowship offerings.^(X) Then he gave a feast^(Y) for all his court.

A Wise Ruling

¹⁶ Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. ¹⁸ The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

¹⁹ “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. ²¹ The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

²² The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

²³ The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

²⁴ Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. ²⁵ He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

²⁶ The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved^(Z) out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

²⁷ Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁰ While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back.

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites^(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites^[a](B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

² Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army^(C) is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar^(D)” (that is, En Gedi).^{(E) 3} Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast^(F) for all Judah. ⁴ The people of Judah^(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶ and said:

¹³ All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit^(T) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^(U) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^(V) because of this vast army. For the battle^(W) is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(X) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down^(Y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith^(Z) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^(AA)” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^[c] holiness^(AB) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes^(AD) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites^(AE) and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir^(AF) to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.^(AG)

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing^[d] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah^[e] to this day.

²⁷ Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

²⁹ The fear^(AH) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought^(AI) against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest^(AJ) on every side.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(AK)

³¹ So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ The high places,^(AL) however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu^(AM) son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance^(AN) with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.^{(AO) 36} He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.^[f] After these were built at Ezion Geber, ³⁷ Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships^(AP) were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.^[g]