Confortatus est ergo Salomon filius David in regno suo, et Dominus Deus ejus erat cum eo, et magnificavit eum in excelsum.

Solomon, then, king David’s heir, was firmly seated on his throne, and the Lord his God was with him, brought him to great renown.

And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him to a high degree.

Præcepitque Salomon universo Israëli, tribunis, et centurionibus, et ducibus, et judicibus omnis Israël, et principibus familiarum:

And now he sent out his summons to the whole of Israel, to commander and captain and warrior chief, to all judges of the people and heads of their families,

And Solomon gave orders to all Israel, to the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, and to the rulers, and to the judges of all Israel, and the heads of the families:

et abiit cum universa multitudine in excelsum Gabaon, ubi erat tabernaculum fœderis Dei, quod fecit Moyses famulus Dei in solitudine.

and, with such great retinue, betook himself to the hill-sanctuary at Gabaon. Gabaon was still the resting-place of that tabernacle which God’s servant Moses fashioned, out in the desert, to be the witness of the divine covenant.

And he went with all the multitude to the high place of Gabaon, where was the tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord, which Moses the servant of God made, in the wilderness.

Arcam autem Dei adduxerat David de Cariathiarim in locum quem præparaverat ei, et ubi fixerat illi tabernaculum, hoc est, in Jerusalem.

The ark of God had left it, first for Cariathiarim, then for the site in Jerusalem where David had brought it, giving it a tent of its own.

For David had brought the ark of God from Cariathiarim to the place, which he had prepared for it, and where he had pitched a tabernacle for it, that is, in Jerusalem.

Altare quoque æneum quod fabricatus fuerat Beseleel filius Uri filii Hur, ibi erat coram tabernaculo Domini: quod et requisivit Salomon, et omnis ecclesia.

But the brazen altar which Beseleel made, Beseleel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was there still before the entrance of the Lord’s tabernacle. To it Solomon repaired, and the whole assembly with him;

And the altar of brass, which Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord: and Solomon and all the assembly sought it:

Ascenditque Salomon ad altare æneum, coram tabernaculo fœderis Domini, et obtulit in eo mille hostias.

on that brazen altar, before the tabernacle that bore witness of the Lord’s covenant, he offered a thousand victims in sacrifice.

And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar, before the tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up on it a thousand victims.

Ecce autem in ipsa nocte apparuit ei Deus, dicens: Postula quod vis, ut dem tibi.

That same night, the Lord appeared to him, bidding him choose what gift he would.

And behold that night God appeared to him, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee.

Dixitque Salomon Deo: Tu fecisti cum David patre meo misericordiam magnam, et constituisti me regem pro eo.

Thou hast been very merciful, Solomon answered, to my father David, in granting him a son to succeed him;

And Solomon said to God: Thou hast shewn great kindness to my father David: and hast made me king in his stead.

Nunc ergo Domine Deus, impleatur sermo tuus quem pollicitus es David patri meo: tu enim me fecisti regem super populum tuum multum, qui tam innumerabilis est quam pulvis terræ.

and now, Lord God, make good thy promise to him. Since thou hast made me king over thy people, a great people countless as the dust,

Now therefore, O Lord God, let thy word be fulfilled, which thou hast promised to David my father: for thou hast made me king over thy great people, which is as innumerable as the dust of the earth.

Da mihi sapientiam et intelligentiam, ut ingrediar et egrediar coram populo tuo: quis enim potest hunc populum tuum digne, qui tam grandis est, judicare?

grant me wisdom and discernment in all my dealings with them. How else should a man sit in judgement over such a people as this, great as thy people is great?

Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may come in and go out before thy people: for who can worthily judge this thy people, which is so great?

Dixit autem Deus ad Salomonem: Quia hoc magis placuit cordi tuo, et non postulasti divitias, et substantiam, et gloriam, neque animas eorum qui te oderant, sed nec dies vitæ plurimos: petisti autem sapientiam et scientiam, ut judicare possis populum meum super quem constitui te regem:

And the Lord answered, For this choice thou hast made, thou shalt be rewarded. Thou didst not ask for riches or possessions, for glory, or vengeance upon thy enemies, or a long life. Thy prayer was for wisdom and discernment, to make thee a better judge for the subjects I have given thee.

And God said to Solomon: Because this choice hath pleased thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, and wealth, and glory, nor the lives of them that hate thee, nor many days of life: but hast asked wisdom and knowledge, to be able to judge my people, over which I have made thee king,

sapientia et scientia data sunt tibi: divitias autem et substantiam et gloriam dabo tibi, ita ut nullus in regibus nec ante te nec post te fuerit similis tui.

Wisdom and discernment thou shalt have; and I will give thee riches and possession too, and such glory as never king shall have before or after thee.

Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee: and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and glory, so that none of the kings before thee, nor after thee, shall be like thee.

Venit ergo Salomon ab excelso Gabaon in Jerusalem coram tabernaculo fœderis, et regnavit super Israël.

So from the hill-sanctuary at Gabaon, from the entrance of that tabernacle which bears witness of the covenant, Solomon returned to Jerusalem. There he reigned over Israel,

Then Solomon came from the high place of Gabaon to Jerusalem before the tabernacle of the covenant, and reigned over Israel.

Congregavitque sibi currus et equites, et facti sunt ei mille quadringenti currus, et duodecim millia equitum: et fecit eos esse in urbibus quadrigarum, et cum rege in Jerusalem.

and mustered a great force of chariots and of horsemen; a thousand and four hundred chariots, and horsemen twelve thousand; some of these were kept in towns set apart for stabling them, others in Jerusalem at the king’s side.

And he gathered to himself chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he placed them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem.

Præbuitque rex argentum et aurum in Jerusalem quasi lapides, et cedros quasi sycomoros quæ nascuntur in campestribus multitudine magna.

Silver he made as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamores that grow in the valleys.

And the king made silver and gold to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees as sycamores, which grow in the plains in great multitude.

Adducebantur autem ei equi de Ægypto et de Coa a negotiatoribus regis, qui ibant et emebant pretio,

And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from Coa, where his agents went to buy them for a fixed sum;

And there were horses brought him from Egypt, and from Coa by the king’s merchants, who went, and bought at a price,

quadrigam equorum sexcentis argenteis, et equum centum quinquaginta: similiter de universis regnis Hethæorum, et a regibus Syriæ emptio celebrabatur.

six hundred silver pieces for a chariot, and for a horse a hundred and fifty; the kingdoms of the Hethites, too, and the kings of Syria sold him horses at the same price.

A chariot of four horses for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: in like manner market was made in all the kingdoms of the Hethites, and of the kings of Syria.