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16 Then came two women, prostitutes, to the king, and they stood before his face. 17 And one woman said, “Please my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 And it came to pass, the third day of my bringing forth, that this woman also brought forth, and we were together. No one was with us in the house except the two of us in the house. 19 And the son of this woman died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side—and your maidservant slept—and laid him in her bosom, and her dead child she laid in my bosom. 21 And I rose in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was dead. And I considered concerning him in the morning, and behold, he was not my son whom I had borne.” 22 And the other woman said, “No, but my son is the living one, and your son is the dead one.” And this woman said, “No, but your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.” And they spoke before the face of the king. 23 And the king said, “This one says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead one,’ and this one says, ‘No, but your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” And they brought a sword before the face of the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one and half to one.” 26 And the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for with compassion she yearned for her son, and she said, “Please my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” And this one said, “Let him be not even unto me or unto you; divide him!” 27 And the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they feared the face of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was within him, to administer justice. 1 Kings 3:16-28, Berean Literal Bible. Public domain.
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