Lectionary Calendar
Friday, December 19th, 2025
the Third Week of Advent
the Third Week of Advent
video advertismenet
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
1 Kings 3:27
The king gave his decision: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Nobody is going to kill this baby. She is the real mother."
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.”
The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.”
Hebrew Names Version
Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is the mother of it.
Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is the mother of it.
King James Version
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
English Standard Version
Then 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."
Then 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 Century Version
Then King Solomon said, "Don't kill him. Give the baby to the first woman, because she is the real mother."
Then King Solomon said, "Don't kill him. Give the baby to the first woman, because she is the real mother."
New English Translation
The king responded, "Give the first woman the living child; don't kill him. She is the mother."
The king responded, "Give the first woman the living child; don't kill him. She is the mother."
Amplified Bible
Then the king said, "Give the first woman [who is pleading for his life] the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."
Then the king said, "Give the first woman [who is pleading for his life] the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."
New American Standard Bible
Then the king replied, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."
Then the king replied, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the King answered, and sayde, Giue her the liuing childe, and slay him not: this is his mother.
Then the King answered, and sayde, Giue her the liuing childe, and slay him not: this is his mother.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then the king said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother."
Then the king said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother."
Contemporary English Version
Solomon said, "Don't kill the baby." Then he pointed to the first woman, "She is his real mother. Give the baby to her."
Solomon said, "Don't kill the baby." Then he pointed to the first woman, "She is his real mother. Give the baby to her."
Complete Jewish Bible
Then the king answered, "Give the living child to the first woman, don't kill it, because she is its mother."
Then the king answered, "Give the living child to the first woman, don't kill it, because she is its mother."
Darby Translation
And the king answered and said, Give this one the living child, and in no wise put it to death: she is its mother.
And the king answered and said, Give this one the living child, and in no wise put it to death: she is its mother.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then King Solomon said, "Stop, don't kill the baby. Give him to this woman. She is the real mother."
Then King Solomon said, "Stop, don't kill the baby. Give him to this woman. She is the real mother."
George Lamsa Translation
Then the king answered and said, Give the child alive to the first woman and in no wise slay it; she is the mother thereof.
Then the king answered and said, Give the child alive to the first woman and in no wise slay it; she is the mother thereof.
Good News Translation
Then Solomon said, "Don't kill the child! Give it to the first woman—she is its real mother."
Then Solomon said, "Don't kill the child! Give it to the first woman—she is its real mother."
Lexham English Bible
Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to her, and do not kill him; she is his mother."
Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to her, and do not kill him; she is his mother."
Literal Translation
And the king answered and said, Give to her the living child, and do not put it to death at all; she is its mother.
And the king answered and said, Give to her the living child, and do not put it to death at all; she is its mother.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then answered the kynge, and sayde: Geue this woman the lyuynge childe, and slaye it not, for she is his mother.
Then answered the kynge, and sayde: Geue this woman the lyuynge childe, and slaye it not, for she is his mother.
American Standard Version
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Bible in Basic English
Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.
Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the king aunswered and sayde: Geue her the liuing childe, and slay it not, for she is the mother therof.
Then the king aunswered and sayde: Geue her the liuing childe, and slay it not, for she is the mother therof.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then the king answered and said: 'Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.'
Then the king answered and said: 'Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.'
King James Version (1611)
Then the King answered and said, Giue her the liuing child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Then the King answered and said, Giue her the liuing child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Then the king answered and said, Give the child to her that said, ‘Give it to her, and by no means slay it:’ she is its mother.
Then the king answered and said, Give the child to her that said, ‘Give it to her, and by no means slay it:’ she is its mother.
English Revised Version
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother."
Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The kyng answeride, and seide, Yyue ye to this womman the yong child quyk, and be he not slayn; forsothe this is `his modir.
The kyng answeride, and seide, Yyue ye to this womman the yong child quyk, and be he not slayn; forsothe this is `his modir.
Young's Literal Translation
And the king answereth and saith, `Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she [is] its mother.'
And the king answereth and saith, `Give ye to her the living child, and put it not at all to death; she [is] its mother.'
Update Bible Version
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no way slay it: she's the mother thereof.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no way slay it: she's the mother thereof.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she [is] the mother of it.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she [is] the mother of it.
World English Bible
Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is the mother of it.
Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is the mother of it.
New King James Version
So the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother."
So the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother."
New Living Translation
Then the king said, "Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!"
Then the king said, "Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!"
New Life Bible
Then the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child. Do not kill him. She is his mother."
Then the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child. Do not kill him. She is his mother."
New Revised Standard
Then the king responded: "Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother."
Then the king responded: "Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then responded the king, and said - Give, her, the living child, ye shall not, kill, it, - she, is its mother.
Then responded the king, and said - Give, her, the living child, ye shall not, kill, it, - she, is its mother.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The king answered, and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed; for she is the mother thereof.
The king answered, and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed; for she is the mother thereof.
Revised Standard Version
Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means slay it; she is its mother."
Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means slay it; she is its mother."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the king said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."
Then the king said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother."
Contextual Overview
16The very next thing, two prostitutes showed up before the king. The one woman said, "My master, this woman and I live in the same house. While we were living together, I had a baby. Three days after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone—there wasn't anyone else in the house except for the two of us. The infant son of this woman died one night when she rolled over on him in her sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son—I was sound asleep, mind you!—and put him at her breast and put her dead son at my breast. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, here was this dead baby! But when I looked at him in the morning light, I saw immediately that he wasn't my baby." 22 "Not so!" said the other woman. "The living one's mine; the dead one's yours." The first woman countered, "No! Your son's the dead one; mine's the living one." They went back and forth this way in front of the king. 23 The king said, "What are we to do? This woman says, ‘The living son is mine and the dead one is yours,' and this woman says, ‘No, the dead one's yours and the living one's mine.'" 24 After a moment the king said, "Bring me a sword." They brought the sword to the king. 25 Then he said, "Cut the living baby in two—give half to one and half to the other." 26 The real mother of the living baby was overcome with emotion for her son and said, "Oh no, master! Give her the whole baby alive; don't kill him!" But the other one said, "If I can't have him, you can't have him—cut away!" 27 The king gave his decision: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Nobody is going to kill this baby. She is the real mother." 28 The word got around—everyone in Israel heard of the king's judgment. They were all in awe of the king, realizing that it was God's wisdom that enabled him to judge truly.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Reciprocal: Job 39:16 - as Isaiah 49:15 - a woman
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Then the king answered and said, give her the living child,
and in no wise slay it,.... That is, to her who desired it might not be slain, but rather be given to her who had no right to it:
she [is] the mother thereof; which might be strongly concluded from her compassion for it, her eagerness and earnestness to have its life spared, and from the indifference of the other, yea, from her cruelty and barbarity in moving to have it divided.
