"At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. … God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. … The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
— 1 Kings 3:5-12; 4:29-34; Proverbs 1:1-7 (NIV)
People who search bible verses about Solomon want Scripture on Shelomoh — Solomon who asked for a discerning heart at Gibeon, whose wisdom and fame spread to the nations, and whose Proverbs open with the fear of the Lord — not only wisdom alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about wisdom, love and understanding, Bible verses about David, Bible verses about faith, Bible verses about worship, Bible verses about prayer, Bible verses about obedience, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about Jesus, Bible verses about Christ, and Bible verse of the day. Solomon here means the son of David who built the temple and wrote Proverbs — distinct from generic wisdom lists.
Word study (lead theme). In Hebrew, שְׁלֹמֹה Shelomoh (Strong's H8010; Bible Hub H8010) — Solomon ("peaceful"). In 1 Kings 3 he asks for a discerning heart; in 1 Kings 4 his wisdom and fame spread; in Proverbs 1 his sayings open with the fear of the Lord. This list tracks that Solomon inventory — not wisdom-alone twelve.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 3 presses Solomon asking for an understanding heart to govern and the Lord's pleasure in that request (Bible Hub MHC 1 Kings 3; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 3). (Wisdom and understanding pages live elsewhere; this list centers Solomon the man.)
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12 Bible verses about Solomon
1 Kings 3:5-9. "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"" Ask — discerning heart to govern. See Bible verses about prayer.
1 Kings 3:10-12. "The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be."" Pleased — wise and discerning heart. See Bible verses about wisdom.
1 Kings 3:28. "When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice." Wisdom from God — administer justice. See Bible verses about wisdom.
1 Kings 4:29-34. "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom." Wisdom measureless — fame to the nations. See love and understanding.
1 Kings 5:5. "I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'" Build a temple — for the Name. See Bible verses about worship.
1 Kings 6:11-13. "The word of the Lord came to Solomon: "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and walk in obedience to them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."" Follow my decrees — I will live among them. See Bible verses about obedience.
1 Kings 8:22-23. "Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: "Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way."" No God like you — covenant of love. See Bible verses about prayer.
1 Kings 10:1-3. "When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her." Queen of Sheba — nothing too hard. See Bible verses about wisdom.
Proverbs 1:1-7. "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Fear of the Lord — beginning of knowledge. See Bible verses about wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2. "The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."" Teacher — son of David. See Bible verses about David.
Matthew 12:42. "The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here." Greater than Solomon — here. See Bible verses about Jesus.
2 Chronicles 1:7-12. "That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered God, "You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."" Wisdom and knowledge — also wealth and honor. See Bible verses about David.
How to use these verses
Pick one verse when you need Solomon — not twelve as a grind. If you need the ask at Gibeon, start at 1 Kings 3:5–12. If you need wisdom and fame among the nations, open 1 Kings 4:29–34. If you need the Proverbs prologue, open Proverbs 1:1–7. For David his father, open Bible verses about David. For wisdom in general, open Bible verses about wisdom. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
Questions people ask
What is a good Bible verse about Solomon?
1 Kings 3:5–12 is the clear starting place; 1 Kings 4:29–34 and Proverbs 1:1–7 press his fame and the fear of the Lord.
How do Bible verses about Solomon differ from wisdom alone?
Wisdom pages gather insight in general. This list centers Solomon the man — ask, fame, and Proverbs prologue.
What Hebrew word sits under Solomon?
Shelomoh (H8010) — Solomon ("peaceful").
Why isn't the wisdom page the exclusive center of this page?
That theme list stays on Bible verses about wisdom so the lists stay distinct (this page owns Solomon the king's ask and fame inventory above).
How is Solomon different from David alone?
David pages gather the anoint and Goliath. This list centers Solomon who asked for a discerning heart and whose Proverbs open the fear of the Lord.
