4:1 King Solomon was king over all Israel.
4:2 These were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;
4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;
4:4 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
4:5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king’s friend;
4:6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
4:7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household: each man had to make provision for a month in the year.
4:8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
4:9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
4:10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh, and all the land of Hepher);
4:11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife);
4:12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;
4:13 Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him belonged the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
4:14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
4:15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife);
4:16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
4:17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
4:18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
4:19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land.
4:20 Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
4:21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
4:22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal,
4:23 ten head of fat cattle, and twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl.
4:24 For he had dominion over all on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River: and he had peace on all sides around him.
4:25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
4:26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
4:27 Those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon’s table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking.
4:28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they to the place where the officers were, every man according to his duty.
4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and very great understanding, even as the sand that is on the seashore.
4:30 Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations all around.
4:32 He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand five.
4:33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fish.
4:34 There came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.