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Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
1 Kings 3:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this great people of yours?”
  • KJV Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
  • NKJV Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
  • NASB So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this great people of Yours?”
  • NLT Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Solomon asks for an understanding heart to discern good and evil and govern justly. He prizes wisdom for serving others above personal gain.

Overview

Rather than wealth or victory, Solomon requests a discerning heart to render justice for God's people, confessing that no one is adequate for such a task alone. His prayer seeks wisdom for the sake of righteous rule, not self-advancement. This longing for godly discernment foreshadows Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and who judges with perfect righteousness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 32

  • Jas 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
  • Heb 5:14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
  • Prov 16:16How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
  • John 5:30I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
  • Prov 2:3–9if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
  • 2 Sam 14:17And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
  • Prov 3:13–18Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding,
  • 1 Chr 22:12Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the LORD your God.
  • Isa 11:2–4The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
  • Eccl 7:11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
  • Ps 119:144Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.
  • Eph 5:17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
  • Exod 4:10–13“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
  • Ps 72:1–2Of Solomon. Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
  • Matt 3:14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
  • Ps 119:34Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.
  • 1 Cor 2:14–15The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
  • Eccl 9:15–18Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
  • 1 Chr 29:19And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”
  • 2 Cor 2:16To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
  • 2 Chr 1:10Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
  • Prov 20:12Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.
  • 2 Cor 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
  • Jas 3:17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
  • Exod 3:11–12But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
  • Matt 3:11I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
  • Phil 1:10so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
  • Eccl 7:19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
  • 1 Kgs 3:28When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
  • Ps 119:73Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding to learn Your commandments.
  • Jer 1:6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
  • Prov 14:8The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 3:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 3:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.