Passage

1 Kings 3.7

Book: 1 Kings · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"5. In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6. And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great lovingkindness, 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 lovingkindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day."

"7. And now, O Jehovah 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 thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people?" (1 Kings 3:5-9, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"5. In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask for what I should give you.” 6. Solomon said, “You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you. You have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today."

"7. Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am just a little child. I don’t know how to go out or come in."

"8. Your servant is among your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can’t be numbered or counted for multitude. 9. Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this great people of yours?”" (1 Kings 3:5-9, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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. ^{mercy: or, bounty}"

"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? ^{understanding: Heb. hearing}" (1 Kings 3:5-9, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"5. In Gibeon hath Jehovah appeared unto Solomon, in a dream of the night, and God saith, 'Ask, what do I give to thee?' 6. And Solomon saith, 'Thou hast done with Thy servant David my father great kindness, as he walked before Thee in truth and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee, and Thou dost keep for him this great kindness, and dost give to him a son sitting on his throne, as [at] this day."

"7. And now, O Jehovah my God, Thou hast caused thy servant to reign instead of David my father; and I [am] a little child, I do not know to go out and to come in;"

"8. and Thy servant [is] in the midst of thy people, whom Thou hast chosen, a people numerous, that is not numbered nor counted for multitude, 9. and Thou hast given to Thy servant an understanding heart, to judge Thy people, to discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great people?'" (1 Kings 3:5-9, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

God and the Killing of Children

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.