King Solomon raised his hand for silence.
“One of you says ‘my child lives and yours is dead ’, and the other says ‘your child is dead and my child lives’: there is a simple way to resolve the matter. Bring me a sword.”
A sword was brought, and the assembly waited to see how the King would proceed.
“Very well,” he said, “ cut the child in two, and give half to one mother, and half to the other.”
The first woman turned pale.
“O my lord,” she said in a faltering voice. “Pray, give her the child. I beg you, do not kill it.”
But the other woman’s face remained hard.
“Let it be neither mine nor yours,” she said, “divide it as the King has ordained.”
Then Solomon arose, and pointed to the first woman.
“The child belongs to her, ” he said. “Give her the child, and do not kill it. She is its mother.”
Word of this judgement spread throughout Israel, and people marvelled at the wisdom of the King.