1 Kings 3:19-25 in English

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night, because she lay upon it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear.

²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she arose in the middle of the night, and took my son from my arms, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

²¹ And I arose in the morning to suckle my son, and he was dead: and, behold, I considered him in the morning, and, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.

²² And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. So they spoke before the king.

²³ And the king said to them, Thou sayest, This is my son, even the living one, and this woman's son is the dead one: and thou sayest, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the live child, the suckling, in two; and give half of it to one, and half of it to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ and she arose in the middle of the night, and took my son from my arms, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

²¹ and I arose in the morning to suckle my son, and he was dead: and, behold, I considered him in the morning, and, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.

²² And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. So they spoke before the king.

²³ and the king said to them, You say, This is my son, even the living one, and this woman's son is the dead one: and you say, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is your son.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the live child, the suckling, in two; and give half of it to one, and half of it to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ But one night this woman's baby died because she accidentally rolled on top of her baby while sleeping and smothered it.

²⁰ So she got up at midnight and took my baby boy who was lying beside me while I was sleeping. She carried him to her bed and brought her dead baby and put it in my bed.

²¹ When I awoke the next morning and was ready to nurse my baby, I saw that it was dead. But when I looked at it closely in the morning light, I saw that it was not my baby!”

²² But the other woman said, “That is not true! The baby that is alive is mine, and the baby that is dead is yours!” Then the first woman said, “No, the dead baby is yours, and the one that is alive is mine!” And they continued to argue in front of the king.

²³ Then the king said, “Both of you are saying, ‘My baby is the one that is alive and the one that is dead is yours.’ ”

²⁴ So he said to one of his servants, “Bring me a sword.” So the servant brought a sword to the king.

²⁵ Then the king said to the servant, “Cut the baby that is alive into two parts. Give one part to each of the women.”

¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ and she arose in the middle of the night, and took my son from my arms, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

²¹ and I arose in the morning to suckle my son, and he was dead: and, behold, I considered him in the morning, and, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.

²² And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. So they spoke before the king.

²³ and the king said to them, You say, This is my son, even the living one, and this woman's son is the dead one: and you say, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is your son.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the live child, the suckling, in two; and give half of it to one, and half of it to the other.

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ In the night, this woman, sleeping on her child, was the cause of its death.

²⁰ And she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was sleeping; and she took it in her arms and put her dead child in my arms.

²¹ And when I got up to give my child the breast, I saw that it was dead; but in the morning, looking at it with care, I saw that it was not my son.

²² And the other woman said, No; but the living child is my son and the dead one yours. But the first said, No; the dead child is your son and the living one mine. So they kept on talking before the king.

²³ Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living.

²⁴ Then he said, Get me a sword. So they went and put a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Let the living child be cut in two and one half given to one woman and one to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she had lain upon it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.

²² And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one says, This that is living is my son, and thy son is the dead; and the other says, No, for thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night: for in her sleep she overlaid him.

²⁰ And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child from my side, while I thy handmaid was asleep, and laid it in her bosom: and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but considering him more diligently when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine which I bore.

²² And the other woman answered: It is not so as thou sayest, but thy child is dead, and mine is alive. On the contrary she said: Thou liest: for my child liveth, and thy child is dead. And in this manner they strove before the king.

²³ Then said the king: The one saith, My child is alive, and thy child is dead. And the other answereth: Nay, but thy child is dead, and mine liveth.

²⁴ The king therefore said: Bring me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king,

²⁵ Divide, said he, the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ During the night this woman's son died because she rolled over on him.

²⁰ She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while I was sleeping. She lay him close beside her to cuddle him, and she lay her dead son close beside me.

²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse my son I saw that he was dead. When I looked closely at him in the light I realized it wasn't my son.”

²² The other woman argued, “No! My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead.” The first woman objected, “No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.” They went on quarrelling in front of the king.

²³ The king intervened, saying, “So this woman says ‘My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead,’ while the other woman says, ‘No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.’”

²⁴ “Bring me a sword,” the king ordered. So they brought him a sword.

²⁵ “Cut the child that's alive in two, and give half to one woman and half to another,” he commanded.

¹⁹ And this womans sonne died in the night: for she ouerlay him.

²⁰ And she rose at midnight, and tooke my sonne from my side, while thine handmaide slept, and layde him in her bosome, and layde her dead sonne in my bosome.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to giue my sonne sucke, beholde, he was dead: and when I had well considered him in the morning, beholde, it was not my sonne, whom I had borne.

²² Then the other woman sayd, Nay, but my sonne liueth, and thy sonne is dead. Againe she sayde, No, but thy sonne is dead, and mine aliue: thus they spake before the King.

²³ Then sayde the King, She sayth, This that liueth is my sonne, and the dead is thy sonne: and the other sayth, Nay, but the dead is thy sonne, and the liuing is my sonne.

²⁴ Then the King said, Bring me a sworde: and they brought out a sworde before the King.

²⁵ And the King sayde, Deuide ye the liuing child in twaine, and giue the one halfe to the one, and the other halfe to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlay it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked well at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear.'

²² And the other woman said: 'Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son.' And this said: 'No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son.' Thus they spoke before the king.

²³ Then said the king: 'The one saith: This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith: Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.'

²⁴ And the king said: 'Fetch me a sword.' And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said: 'Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.'

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she rose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman's son died in the night; because she had overlaid him.

²⁰ And she arose in the midst of the night, and took my son from beside me, while thy hand-maid slept, and laid him in her bosom, and her dead son she laid in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my son suck, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I had born.

²² And the other woman said, It is not so; my son is the living one, and thy son is the dead; and this one said, It is not so; thy son is the dead, and my son is the living: thus they spoke before the king.

²³ Then said the king, This one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is dead: and the other saith, It is not so; thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch me a sword: and they brought the sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Hew the living child in two, and give the one half to one, and the other half to the other.

¹⁹ And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she arose in the middle of the night, and took my son from my arms, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

²¹ And I arose in the morning to suckle my son, and he was dead: and, behold, I considered him in the morning, and, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.

²² And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. So they spoke before the king.

²³ And the king said to them, Thou sayest, This is my son, even the living one, and this woman’s son is the dead one: and thou sayest, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son.

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the live child, the suckling, in two; and give half of it to one, and half of it to the other.

¹⁹ Then this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him.

²⁰ So she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, he was dead. But when I had looked at him carefully in the morning, he was not my son, whom I had borne.”

²² Then the other woman said, “No, the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first woman said, “No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” This is how they spoke before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One of you says, 'This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,' and the other says, 'No, your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.'”

²⁴ The king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ Then the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to this woman and half to the other.”

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ And when I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I bore.

²² And the other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith, No; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ This woman’s child died in the night, because she lay on it.

²⁰ She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me while your servant slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead; but when I had looked at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore.”

²² The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

²⁴ The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵ The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”

¹⁹ And the son of this woman was dead in the night, for she slept, and over-lay him;

²⁰ and she rose up in the fourth part of the night in silence, and took my son from the side of me, while thine handmaid was sleeping, and she laid it in her bosom; and she putted or put in my bosom her son, that was dead.

²¹ And when I had risen early, to give milk to my son, he appeared dead; whom I beheld more diligently by clear light, and I perceived, that he was not mine, whom I had engendered.

²² The tother woman answered, It is not as thou sayest, but thy son is dead; forsooth my son liveth. The contrary, she said, Thou liest; for my son liveth, and thy son is dead. And by this manner they strove before the king.

²³ Then the king said, This woman saith, My son liveth, and thy son is dead; and this woman answereth, Nay, but thy son is dead, and my son liveth.

²⁴ Therefore the king said, Bring ye to me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king,

²⁵ he said, Part ye the quick young child in two parts, and give ye the half part to the one, and the half part to the tother.

¹⁹ And the son of this woman was dead in the night, for she slept, and over-lay him; (And this woman’s son died in the night, for while she was sleeping, she rolled over, and laid upon him;)

²⁰ and she rose up in the fourth part of the night in silence, and took my son from the side of me, (while) thine handmaid (was) sleeping, and she laid it in her bosom; and she putted in my bosom her son, that was dead.

²¹ And when I had risen early, to give milk to my son, he appeared dead; whom I beheld more diligently by clear light, and I perceived, that he was not mine, whom I had engendered (or whom I had begat).

²² The tother woman answered, It is not as thou sayest, but thy son is dead; forsooth my son liveth. The contrary, she said, Thou liest, (or But the other woman said, Thou liest); for my son liveth, and thy son is dead. And by this manner they strove before the king.

²³ Then the king said, This woman saith, My son liveth, and thy son is dead; and this woman answereth, Nay, but thy son is dead, and my son liveth.

²⁴ Therefore the king said, Bring ye to me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king,

²⁵ he said, Part ye the quick young child in two parts (or Divide ye, or cut ye, the young living child in two), and give ye the half part to the one, and the half part to the tother.

¹⁹ And the son of this woman dieth at night, because she hath lain upon it,

²⁰ and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me — and thy handmaid is asleep — and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom;

²¹ and I rise in the morning to suckle my son, and lo, dead; and I consider concerning it in the morning, and lo, it was not my son whom I did bear.'

²² And the other woman saith, 'Nay, but my son is the living, and thy son the dead;' and this one saith, 'Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.

²³ And the king saith, 'This one saith, This is my son, the living, and thy son is the dead; and that one saith, Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.'

²⁴ And the king saith, 'Take for me a sword;' and they bring the sword before the king,

²⁵ and the king saith, 'Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.'