1 Kings 4 - Easy To Read Version

¹ King Solomon ruled all the people of Israel.

² These are the names of his leading officials that helped him rule:

³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha. Elihoreph and Ahijah had the jobs of writing notes about the things that happened in the courts.

⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada. Benaiah was the commander of the army.

⁵ Azariah son of Nathan. Azariah was in charge of the district governors.

⁶ Ahishar. Ahishar was responsible for everything in the king’s home.

⁷ Israel was divided into twelve areas called districts. Solomon chose governors to rule over each district. These governors were ordered to gather food from their districts and give the food to the king and his family. Each of the twelve governors was responsible for giving food to the king one month of each year.

⁸ These are the names of the twelve governors:

⁹ Ben Deker was governor of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan.

¹⁰ Ben Hesed was governor of Arubboth, Socoh, and Hepher.

¹¹ Ben Abinadab was governor of Naphoth Dor. He was married to Taphath, daughter of Solomon.

¹² Baana son of Ahilud was governor of Taanach and Megiddo and all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan. This was below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across from Jokmeam.

¹³ Ben Geber was governor of Ramoth Gilead. He was governor of all the towns and villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead. He was also governor of the district of Argob in Bashan. In this area there were 60 cities with big walls around them. These cities also had bronze bars on the gates.

¹⁴ Ahinadab son of Iddo was governor of Mahanaim.

¹⁵ Ahimaaz was governor of Naphtali. He was married to Basemath the daughter of Solomon.

¹⁶ Baana son of Hushai was governor of Asher and Aloth.

¹⁷ Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was governor of Issachar.

¹⁸ Shimei son of Ela was governor of Benjamin.

¹⁹ Geber son of Uri was governor of Gilead. Gilead was the country where Sihon the king of the Amorite people lived and the country where Og the king of Bashan lived. But Geber was the only governor of that district.

²⁰ There were many, many people in Judah and Israel. The number of people was like sands on the seashore. The people lived happy lives: They ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves.

^21-23 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistine people. His kingdom went as far as the border of Egypt. These countries sent gifts to Solomon and they obeyed him all of his life. [19]

²⁴ Solomon ruled over all the countries west of the Euphrates River. This was the land from Tiphsah to Gaza. And Solomon had peace on all sides of his kingdom.

²⁵ During Solomon’s life all of the people in Judah and Israel, all the way from Dan to Beersheba, lived in peace and security. The people were at peace sitting under their own fig trees and grape vines.

²⁶ Solomon had places to keep 4,000 [23] horses for his chariots and he had 12,000 horse soldiers.

²⁷ And each month one of the twelve district governors gave King Solomon all those things that he needed. This was enough for every person that ate at the king’s table.

²⁸ The district governors also gave the king enough straw and barley for the chariot horses and the riding horses. Each person brought this grain to required places.

²⁹ God made Solomon very wise. Solomon could understand many, many things. His wisdom was too great to imagine.

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men in the East. And his wisdom was greater than all the men in Egypt.

³¹ He was wiser than any of the men on earth. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. King Solomon became famous in all of the countries around Israel and Judah.

³² During his life, King Solomon wrote [24] 3,000 wise teachings and 1,005 songs.

³³ {Solomon also knew very much about nature.} Solomon taught about many different kinds of plants—everything from the great cedar trees of Lebanon to the little vines that grow out of the walls. King Solomon also taught about animals, birds, and snakes. [25]

³⁴ People from all nations came to listen to King Solomon’s wisdom. The kings of all nations sent their wise men to listen to King Solomon.