1 Kings 1:28-40, NIrV

28 King David said, “Tell Bathsheba to come in.” So she came and stood in front of the king.

29 Then the king made a promise. He said, “The Lord has saved me from all my troubles. You can be sure that he lives. 30 And you can be just as sure I will do what I promised. This is the day I will do what I promised in the name of the Lord. He is the God of Israel. I promised you that your son Solomon would be king after me. He will sit on my throne in my place.”

31 Then Bathsheba bowed down in front of the king. Her face was toward the ground. She said, “King David, you are my master. May you live forever!”

32 King David said, “Tell Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet to come in. Also tell Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, to come.” So they came to the king. 33 He said to them, “Take my officials with you. Have my son Solomon get on my own mule. Take him down to the Gihon spring. 34 Have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him as king over Israel there. Blow a trumpet. Shout, ‘May King Solomon live a long time!’ 35 Then come back up to the city with him. Have him sit on my throne. He will rule in my place. I’ve appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”

36 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answered the king. “Amen!” he said. “May the Lord your God make it come true. 37 You are my king and master. The Lord has been with you. May he also be with Solomon. King David, may the Lord make Solomon’s kingdom even greater than yours!”

38 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet left the palace. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went with them. So did the Kerethites and Pelethites. They had Solomon get on King David’s mule. And they brought him down to the Gihon spring. 39 Zadok the priest had taken an animal horn from the sacred tent. The horn was filled with olive oil. He anointed Solomon with the oil. A trumpet was blown. All the people shouted, “May King Solomon live a long time!” 40 Then they went up toward the city. Solomon was leading the way. The people were playing flutes. They were filled with great joy. The ground shook because of all the noise.

1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-11, NIrV

1 The time came near for David to die. So he gave orders to his son Solomon.

2 He said, “I’m about to die, just as everyone else on earth does. So be strong. Show how brave you are. 3 Do everything the Lord your God requires. Live the way he wants you to. Obey his orders and commands. Keep his laws and rules. Do everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will have success in everything you do. You will succeed everywhere you go. 4 The Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He said, ‘Your sons must be careful about how they live. They must be faithful to me with all their heart and soul. Then you will always have a son from your family line to sit on the throne of Israel.’

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10 David joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. 11 He had ruled over Israel for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron. Then he ruled for 33 years in Jerusalem.

1 Kings 3:5-9, NIrV

5 The Lord appeared to Solomon at Gibeon. He spoke to him in a dream during the night. God said, “Ask for anything you want me to give you.”

6 Solomon answered, “You have been very kind to my father David, your servant. That’s because he was faithful to you. He did what was right. His heart was honest. And you have continued to be very kind to him. You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.

7 “Lord my God, you have now made me king. You have put me in the place of my father David. But I’m only a little child. I don’t know how to carry out my duties. 8 I’m here among the people you have chosen. They are a great nation. They are more than anyone can count. 9 So give me a heart that understands. Then I can rule over your people. I can tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Who can possibly rule over this great nation of yours?”

1 Kings 3:10-15, NIRV

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for that. 11 So God said to him, “You have not asked to live for a long time. You have not asked to be wealthy. You have not even asked to have your enemies killed. Instead, you have asked for wisdom. You want to do what is right and fair when you judge people. Because that is what you have asked for, 12 I will give it to you. I will give you a wise and understanding heart. So here is what will be true of you. There has never been anyone like you. And there never will be. 13 And that is not all. I will give you what you have not asked for. I will give you wealth and honor. As long as you live, no other king will be as great as you are. 14 Live the way I want you to. Obey my laws and commands, just as your father David did. Then I will let you live for a long time.” 15 Solomon woke up. He realized he had been dreaming.

He returned to Jerusalem. He stood in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his officials.

1 Kings 4:29-34, NIRV

29 God 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. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east. It was greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 Solomon 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. 32 He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He 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. 34 The kings of all the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.

1 Kings 10:1-10, NIRV

1 The queen of Sheba heard about how famous Solomon was. She also heard about how he served and worshiped the Lord. So she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large group of attendants. Her camels were carrying spices, huge amounts of gold, and valuable jewels. She came to Solomon and asked him about everything she wanted to know. 3 Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 So the queen of Sheba saw how very wise Solomon was. She saw the palace he had built. 5 She saw the food on his table. She saw his officials sitting there. She saw the robes of the servants who waited on everyone. She saw his wine tasters. And she saw the burnt offerings Solomon sacrificed at the Lord’s temple. She could hardly believe everything she had seen.

6 She said to the king, “Back in my own country I heard a report about you. I heard about how much you had accomplished. I also heard about how wise you are. Everything I heard is true. 7 But I didn’t believe those things. So I came to see for myself. And now I believe it! You are twice as wise and wealthy as people say you are. The report I heard doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story about you. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials must be! They always get to serve you and hear the wise things you say. 9 May the Lord your God be praised. He takes great delight in you. He placed you on the throne of Israel. The Lord will love Israel for all time to come. That’s why he has made you king. He knows that you will do what is fair and right.”

10 She gave the king four and a half tons of gold. She also gave him huge amounts of spices and valuable jewels. No one would ever bring to King Solomon as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave him.

Proverbs 1:7, NIRV

7 If you really want to gain knowledge, you must begin by having respect for the Lord.

    But foolish people hate wisdom and instruction.