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So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings 4:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB People of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
  • KJV And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
  • NKJV And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
  • NASB People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
  • NLT And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

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

People and kings from all nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom. His God-given insight drew the world to Israel.

Overview

The fame of Solomon's wisdom brought representatives of many nations, as later seen in the Queen of Sheba's visit. This drawing of the nations to God's wise king anticipates the gospel's gathering of the peoples. It points to Christ, the wisdom of God, before whom every nation will one day bow.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • 2 Chr 9:23All the kings of the earth sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
  • 1 Kgs 10:1Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
  • 2 Chr 9:1Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.
  • Isa 2:2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
  • Zech 8:23This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 4:34YouTube · 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 4:34 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.