1 Kings 3:15-27
New American Standard Bible
16Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17The one woman said, 'Pardon me, my lord: this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.
18And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house.
19Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
20So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and she laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.
21When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! But when I examined him closely in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne!'
22Then the other woman said, 'No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.' But the first woman said, 'No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.' So they spoke before the king.
23Then the king said, 'The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’?'
24And the king said, 'Get me a sword.' So they brought a sword before the king.
25And the king said, 'Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.'
26But the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son, and she said, 'Pardon me, my lord! Give her the living child, and by no means kill him!' But the other woman was saying, 'He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!'
27Then the king replied, 'Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.'
King James Version
Chapter 3
15And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. 16Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. 17And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. 19And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. 20And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. 22And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
23Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
24And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
27Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Christian Standard Bible
16Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17One woman said, "Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house.
18On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house; just the two of us were there.
19During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him.
20She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms.
21When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to."
23The king replied, "This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’"
24The king continued, "Bring me a sword." So they brought the sword to the king.
25And the king said, "Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other."
New Living Translation
16Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled.
17Please, my lord,' one of them began, 'this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house.
18Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.
19But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it.
20Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her.
21And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.'
English Standard Version
16Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.
18Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house.
19And this woman 's son died in the night, because she lay on him.
20And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.
21When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne."
22But the other woman said, "No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours." The first said, "No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine." Thus they spoke before the king.
23Then the king said, "The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’"
24And the king said, "Bring me a sword." So a sword was brought before the king.
25And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other."
26Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."
27Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother."
New International Version
16Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17One of them said, "Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me.
18The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
19"During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him.
20So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.
21The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne."
New King James Version
16Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.
17And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.
18Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.
19And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
20So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
23And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ”
24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.
25And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
