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Tuesday, May 13th, 2025
the Fourth Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

1 Kings 4:20

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore; they ate and drank, and were happy.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Rulers;   Solomon;   Tax;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Holy Land;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Blessedness;   Israel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, the Book of;   Solomon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Government;   Israel;   Solomon;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Sea;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Sand;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Sand;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Triennial Cycle;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.
Hebrew Names Version
Yehudah and Yisra'el were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
King James Version
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
English Standard Version
Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
New Century Version
There were as many people in Judah and Israel as grains of sand on the seashore. The people ate, drank, and were happy.
New English Translation
The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy.
Amplified Bible
[The people of] Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is in abundance by the sea; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.
New American Standard Bible
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Iudah and Israel were many, as the sand of the sea in number, eating, drinking, and making merry.
Legacy Standard Bible
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and being glad.
Contemporary English Version
There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.
Complete Jewish Bible
Y'hudah and Isra'el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.
Darby Translation
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Easy-to-Read Version
In Judah and Israel there were as many people as sand on the seashore. The people were happy and had plenty to eat and drink.
George Lamsa Translation
Judah and Israel were as many in multitude as the sand which is by the sea; they ate and drank and made merry.
Lexham English Bible
Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is on the seashore in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing!
Literal Translation
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand by the sea in multitude; eating and drinking and rejoicing.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As for Iuda and Israel, they were in nombre as the sonde of the see, and ate and dronke, and were mery.
American Standard Version
Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Bible in Basic English
Judah and Israel were as great in number as the sand by the seaside, and they took their food and drink with joy in their hearts.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iuda and Israel were many [euen] as the sande of the sea in numbre, eating, drincking, and making mery.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
King James Version (1611)
Iudah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merrie.
English Revised Version
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Berean Standard Bible
Judah and Israel became as numerous as the sand by the sea, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Juda and Israel weren vnnoumbrable, as the soond of the see in multitude, etynge, and drynkynge, and beynge glad.
Young's Literal Translation
Judah and Israel [are] many, as the sand that [is] by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
Update Bible Version
Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Webster's Bible Translation
Judah and Israel [were] many, as the sand which [is] by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
World English Bible
Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
New King James Version
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
New Living Translation
The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink.
New Life Bible
There were many people in Judah and Israel, as much as the sand beside the sea. They were eating and drinking and full of joy.
New Revised Standard
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Judah and Israel, were many, as the sand that is by the sea, for multitude, - eating and drinking, and rejoicing.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Juda and Israel were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude; eating and drinking, and rejoicing.
Revised Standard Version
Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy.
THE MESSAGE
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.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

Contextual Overview

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore; they ate and drank, and were happy. 21 Solomon's kingdom included all the nations from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. They paid him taxes and were subject to him all his life. 22 The supplies Solomon needed each day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal; 23 10 stall-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, and 100 sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and poultry. 24 Solomon ruled over all the land west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah on the Euphrates as far west as the city of Gaza. All the kings west of the Euphrates were subject to him, and he was at peace with all the neighboring countries. 25 As long as he lived, the people throughout Judah and Israel lived in safety, each family with its own grapevines and fig trees. 26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand cavalry horses. 27 His twelve governors, each one in the month assigned to him, supplied the food King Solomon needed for himself and for all who ate in the palace; they always supplied everything needed. 28 Each governor also supplied his share of barley and straw, where it was needed, for the chariot horses and the work animals.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

as the sand: 1 Kings 3:8, Genesis 13:16, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 22:17, Proverbs 14:28

eating: 1 Samuel 30:16, 1 Chronicles 12:39, Job 1:18, Psalms 72:3-7, Ecclesiastes 2:24, Isaiah 22:13, Micah 4:4, Zechariah 3:10, Zechariah 9:15, Acts 2:46

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:11 - he washed Numbers 1:46 - General Joshua 11:4 - as the sand 2 Samuel 17:11 - as the sand 1 Kings 4:29 - as the sand 1 Kings 12:4 - our yoke 2 Kings 18:31 - eat ye 1 Chronicles 22:9 - I will give 2 Chronicles 10:4 - grievous Psalms 68:13 - the wings Psalms 72:16 - of the city Psalms 80:9 - and it Isaiah 10:22 - though thy Isaiah 36:16 - eat ye Jeremiah 22:15 - eat Zechariah 10:8 - and they Hebrews 11:12 - as the sand Revelation 20:8 - the number

Cross-References

Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.
Genesis 4:4
Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
Genesis 4:5
but he rejected Cain and his offering. Cain became furious, and he scowled in anger.
Genesis 4:9
The Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?"
Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge.
Genesis 4:11
You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him.
Genesis 4:12
If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
Genesis 4:21
His brother was Jubal, the ancestor of all musicians who play the harp and the flute.
Genesis 25:27
The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
John 8:44
You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Judah and Israel [were] many, as the sand which [is] by the sea in multitude,.... Being blessed with great fruitfulness in their families, and having no pestilential disease among them, nor wars to lessen their number, and so the promise to Abraham was fulfilled, Genesis 22:17; and which was an emblem of Christ's spiritual subjects, especially in the latter day, whom Solomon was a type of, see Hosea 1:10;

eating, and drinking, and making merry; having a large increase of the fruits of the earth, and in no fear of any enemies; expressive of the spiritual joy of believers in the kingdom of Christ, and under the word and ordinances, Song of Solomon 2:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is some doubt about the proper arrangement of the remainder of this chapter. The best alteration, if we alter the Hebrew order at all, would be to place 1 Kings 4:20-21 after 1 Kings 4:25.

Many ... - See 1 Kings 3:8 note; and compare Psalms 127:1-5, which is traditionally ascribed to Solomon, and which celebrates the populousness and security of Israel in his day.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 4:20. Eating and drinking, and making merry. — They were very comfortable, very rich, very merry, and very corrupt. And this full feeding and dissipation led to a total corruption of manners.


 
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