1 Kings 3:25

and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

ASV

And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

YLT

and the king saith, `Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.'

DBT

And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

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Commentary voices

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Voices3

On this verse

The interpretation of Solomon's judgment on the quarrel of two harlot women (1 Kings 3) is clear as far as the simple history is concerned: that a boy of twelve years judged with an affection beyond his age for the depths of human nature. Hence, he was both admired and feared by all Israel, because he would not miss what was so skillfully concealed.

Jerome· Letter 74, 420patristic

Related commentary

What about Solomon, who in his first judgment manifested the gift of wisdom, which he had received of God, only by making use of falsehood? For in order to get at the truth which was hidden by the woman's lie, even he used the help of a lie most cunningly invented, saying: "Bring me a sword and divide the living child into two parts, and give the one half to the one and the other half to the other."

John Cassian· CONFERENCE 17.25, 435patristic

Divide the living child in two - This was apparently a very strange decision, and such as nothing could vindicate had it been carried into execution; but Solomon saw that the only way to find out the real mother was by the affection and tenderness which she would necessarily show to her offspring. He plainly saw that the real mother would rather relinquish her claim to her child than see it hewn in pieces before her eyes, while it was probable the pretender would see this with indifference.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse: and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

1 linked verse

The verses this one reaches1

Proverbs 25:8
do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The Judgment of Solomon — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Kings: From Solomon's glory to the divided kingdom: then Elijah's confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel dominating the second half. The promise of the Davidic covenant unfolding through temple glory, then beginning to unravel as idolatry and political fragmentation take hold.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Compiler anonymous; Jewish tradition attributes to Jeremiah (Bava Batra 15a). The book draws on court annals and prophetic records cited by name.
Date: Events c. 970–852 BC; compilation during the late Judahite monarchy or exile

The walk5

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Proverbs 25:8
do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?
leads to
- Matthew 5:25
  Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and…
- Proverbs 17:14
  To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Proverbs 18:6
  A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- Proverbs 14:12
  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
- Proverbs 30:33
  For as the churning of milk yields butter, and the twisting of the nose draws blood, so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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Continue: 1 Kings 3 →