1 Kings 4:5

Easy-to-Read Version

Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and an advisor to King Solomon;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Azariah son of Nathan, in charge of the deputies;

Hebrew Names Version
and `Azaryah the son of Natan was over the officers; and Zavud the son of Natan was chief minister, [and] the king's friend;

King James Version
And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend:

English Standard Version
Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;

New Century Version
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;

New English Translation
Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king.

Amplified Bible
Azariah the son of Nathan was in charge of the deputies; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and was the king's friend [and trusted advisor];

New American Standard Bible
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king's confidant;

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Azariah the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers, and Zabud the sonne of Nathan Priest was the Kings friend,

Legacy Standard Bible
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king's friend;

Complete Jewish Bible
‘Azaryah the son of Natan, chief administrator; Zavud the son of Natan, the king's trusted counselor;

Darby Translation
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the superintendents; and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, the king's friend;

George Lamsa Translation
And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the governors; and Zabur, the son of Nathan, the priest, was the kings friend;

Good News Translation
Chief of the district governors: Azariah son of Nathan Royal Adviser: the priest Zabud son of Nathan

Lexham English Bible
Azariah the son of Nathan was over the governors, and Zabud the son of Nathan was a priest, an advisor to the king.

Literal Translation
And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers. And Zabud the son of Nathan was the minister and friend of the king.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Asaria the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers: Sabud the sonne of Nathan the prest was the kynges frende:

American Standard Version
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, and the king's friend;

Bible in Basic English
Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over those in authority in the different divisions of the country; Zabud, the son of Nathan, was priest and the king's friend;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Azariahu the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers: And Zabud the sonne of Nathan was a priest, ye kinges companion.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister and the king's friend;

King James Version (1611)
And Azariah the sonne of Nathan was ouer the officers: and Zabud the sonne of Nathan was principall officer, and the kings friend.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Ornia the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabuth son of Nathan was the king’s friend.

English Revised Version
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was priest, [and] the king’s friend;

Berean Standard Bible
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Azarie, sone of Nathan, was on hem that stoden niy the kyng; Zabul, the sone of Nathan, was preest, `that is, greet and worschipful, a freend of the kyng;

Young's Literal Translation
and Azariah son of Nathan [is] over the officers; and Zabud son of Nathan [is] minister, friend of the king;

Update Bible Version
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief ruler, [and] the king's friend;

Webster's Bible Translation
And Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan [was] principal officer, [and] the king's friend:

World English Bible
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, [and] the king's friend;

New King James Version
Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king's friend;

New Living Translation
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.

New Life Bible
Azariah the son of Nathan was over the leaders. Zabud the son of Nathan was a religious leader and the king's friend.

New Revised Standard
Azariah son of Nathan was over the officials; Zabud son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Azariah son of Nathan, over the governors, - and Zabud son of Nathan, minister, king's friend;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Azarias, the son of Nathan, over them that were about the king: Zabud, the son of Nathan, the priest, the king’s friend:

Revised Standard Version
Azari'ah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;

THE MESSAGE
King Solomon was off to a good start ruling Israel. These were the leaders in his government: Azariah son of Zadok—the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud—historian; Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar—priests; Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the regional managers; Zabud son of Nathan—priest and friend to the king; Ahishar—manager of the palace; Adoniram son of Abda—manager of the slave labor. Solomon had twelve regional managers distributed throughout Israel. They were responsible for supplying provisions for the king and his administration. Each was in charge of bringing supplies for one month of the year. These are the names: Ben-Hur in the Ephraim hills; Ben-Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan; Ben-Hesed in Arubboth—this included Socoh and all of Hepher; Ben-Abinadab in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath); Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah over to Jokmeam; Ben-Geber in Ramoth Gilead—this included the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead and the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty large walled cities with bronze-studded gates; Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim; Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath); Baana son of Hushai in Asher and Aloth; Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar; Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin; Geber son of Uri in Gilead—this was the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and also of Og king of Bashan; he managed the whole district by himself. Judah and Israel were densely populated—like sand on an ocean beach! All their needs were met; they ate and drank and were happy. Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates in the east to the country of the Philistines in the west, all the way to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and were vassals of Solomon all his life. One day's food supply for Solomon's household was: 185 bushels of fine flour 375 bushels of meal 10 grain-fed cattle 20 range cattle 100 sheep and miscellaneous deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl. Solomon was sovereign over everything, countries and kings, west of the River Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza. Peace reigned everywhere. Throughout Solomon's life, everyone in Israel and Judah lived safe and sound, all of them from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—content with what they had. Solomon had forty thousand stalls for chariot horses and twelve thousand horsemen. The district managers, each according to his assigned month, delivered food supplies for King Solomon and all who sat at the king's table; there was always plenty. They also brought to the designated place their assigned quota of barley and straw for the horses. God gave Solomon wisdom—the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn't handle. Solomon's wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, wiser than Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. He became famous among all the surrounding nations. He created 3,000 proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005. He knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall. He understood everything about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Sent by kings from all over the earth who had heard of his reputation, people came from far and near to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king's friend;

Contextual Overview

¹ King Solomon ruled over all Israel. ² These are the names of his leading officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, had the job of writing notes about what happened in the courts; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud wrote notes about the history of the people; ⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ⁵ Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and an advisor to King Solomon; ⁶ Ahishar was responsible for everything in the king's palace; Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the slaves. ⁷ Israel was divided into twelve districts. Solomon chose governors to rule over each district. These governors were ordered to gather food from their districts and give it to the king and his family. Each of the twelve governors was responsible for giving food to the king one month each year. ⁸ These are the names of the twelve governors: Ben Hur was governor of the hill country of Ephraim. ⁹ Ben Deker was governor of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan. ¹⁰ Ben Hesed was governor of Arubboth, Socoh, and Hepher.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

son of Nathan: 1 Kings 1:10-53, 2 Samuel 7:2, 2 Samuel 12:1-15, 2 Samuel 12:25

the officers: 1 Kings 4:7

the principal: 2 Samuel 8:18, 2 Samuel 20:26

the king's: 2 Samuel 15:37, 2 Samuel 16:16, 2 Samuel 19:37, 2 Samuel 19:38, 1 Chronicles 27:33, Proverbs 22:11, John 13:23, John 15:14, John 15:15, James 2:23

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 27:5 - chief priest

Cross-References

Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground.

Genesis 31:2
Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been in the past.

Genesis 31:5
He said to them, "I have noticed that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be. But the God of my father has been with me.

Numbers 16:15
So Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord , "I never did anything wrong to these people. I never took anything from them—not even a donkey! Don't accept their gifts!"

Job 5:2
A fool's anger will kill him. His jealousy will destroy him.

Psalms 20:3
May he remember all the gifts you have offered. May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah

Matthew 20:15
I can do what I want with my own money. Why would you be jealous because I am generous?'

Acts 13:45
When the Jews there saw all these people, they became very jealous. Shouting insults, they argued against everything Paul said.

Hebrews 11:4
Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God. But Abel offered a better sacrifice to God because he had faith. God said he was pleased with what Abel offered. And so God called him a good man because he had faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the officers,.... The twelve officers who provided food for Solomon's household after mentioned:

and Zabud the son of Nathan; another of the sons of Nathan the prophet: for he being a principal instrument of settling Solomon on the throne, had interest enough to promote his sons to the chief places of honour and trust: and this here

[was] principal officer, [and] the king's friend; a chief minister about him, very intimate with him, that kept him company, privately conversed with him, was in his secrets, and admitted to great privacy and nearness to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The son of Nathan - It is uncertain whether the Nathan of this verse is the prophet or the son of David 2 Samuel 5:14. While on the one hand the position of “king’s friend” is more likely to have been held by a contemporary, which the prophet’s son would have been, than by one so much younger as the son of a younger brother; on the other hand the title “cohen” seems to point to a member of the royal family. (See the next note.) Azariah who was “over the officers” was chief, that is, of the “officers” mentioned in 1 Kings 4:8-19, as appears from the identity of the term here used with the title by which they are designated in 1 Kings 4:7.

Principal officer - Or, “cohen.” The fact that the title כהן kôhên was borne by sons of David 2 Samuel 8:18, who could not be “priests” in the ordinary sense of the word, seems to identify the Nathan of this verse with David’s son 2 Samuel 5:14 rather than with the prophet.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 4:5. Azariah - was over the officers — He had the superintendence of the twelve officers mentioned below; see 1 Kings 4:7.

Zabud - was principal officer — Perhaps what we call premier, or prime minister.

The king's friend — His chief favourite - his confidant.