Original subtitles

(H.ALNEAIMI)

(horses whinnying)

(man roars)

(drivers barking)

(horses clomping)

(carts rattling) (drivers barking)

(people shouting)

(cart rattling)

(people cheering)

(wood crashing)

(Adonijah yelps)

(horse whinnies)

(Adonijah grunting)

- Whoa, ho, ho!

Adonijah, Adonijah, my brother!

Are you hurt?

- Oh, of course not, Solomon.

I always end a race this way.

- No, don't move.

Let me see if you're injured.

- So you're a physician now, too?

Is there anything you don't know, Solomon?

- I know you're too mean to be hurt

by such a minor accident.

- Minor accident?

It was spectacular.

- I thought you'd been killed.

Imagine my disappointment now to see you still alive.

- Away from me!

I'm not hurt. (pants)

I won, Solomon.

- Won?

You have to cross the finish line to win.

Look at you.

You can't even walk.

- I can walk.

(body thuds)

- [Solomon] Pick him up, pick him up!

Break camp!

The hunt is over, to Jerusalem!

(people shouting) (dramatic orchestral music)

(metal clanking)

(carts rattling)

(horses clomping)

(gravel crunching)

(carts rattling) (metal clanking)

- Are you in need of help?

- Only if you're a physician.

- Physician?

(laughs) No, no, my lord.

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

But my daughter is skilled in herbs.

Many people say she has healed them.

- What is your name?

- I am Azarel Ben-Asaph from Jaffa.

I travel to Jerusalem to sell salt fish.

Ah, this is my daughter, if we can be of any help, my lord.

(birds chirping)

- What is her name?

- [Azarel] She is called Abishag.

- I am Solomon, son of King David.

This is my half-brother, also King David's son.

If you can help him, there'll be

a handsome reward, I can assure you.

- To aid the son of our great king

is reward enough, my lord.

- There's an oasis just there.

We'll test your daughter's healing powers.

(metal clanking) (carts rattling)

(Azarel retches)

(both laughing)

- Why the fish themselves do not get sick

is a great mystery to me, my lord.

(both laughing)

- Solomon.

- Adonijah!

(Azarel laughs) (Azarel claps)

Are you all right?

Your wounds!

- Nearly painless.

Would that I had been injured before

were I to be touched by this woman. (chuckles)

Abishag, come out.

Have you ever seen such a creature?

And her hands, they are touched by God.

She heals just by laying on.

- Perhaps you'd like to meet her father.

Azarel Ben-Asaph from Jaffa meet

the recently-revived Adonijah from Jerusalem,

the son of King David and Haggith.

- Sir, I'd like to buy your daughter.

(Solomon laughing)

- She's not for sale, my lord.

- Then I'd like to marry her.

- No, my lord.

- (laughs) You?

Married? (laughs)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(people chattering) (horses clomping)

May the King live forever.

Your blessing, Father.

- Lord bless you and keep you.

God make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

So, the hunt went well?

No, Father, no game was seen.

- Oh, so no tales to tell, then.

- [Solomon] Oh, a tale of near death to tell.

- What?

- Adonijah challenged me to a race.

- [David] Oh, an accident?

- He was thrown from his chariot when it overturned.

- Is he injured?

- Well, that's the most interesting part.

He was hurt, badly.

He was cut, broken.

He passed out as we were rushing him

here to the court physicians, but on the way,

we met an old merchant and his family,

a dealer in salt fish, O Illustrious One,

though never have I set foot on a boat myself.

The motion, Great One, it brings on the sickness.

(chuckles) Why the fish themselves

are not sick is a mystery to me, my lord.

(both laughing)

(David coughs)

But then his daughter, a great beauty, took Adonijah

into their tent, and within an hour,

he was nearly whole, an amazing cure.

- How?

- Herbs and a knowledge of nature, she says.

- Bring her to me, Solomon.

Perhaps she can do something with this old body.

- I will.

(people chattering) (horses clomping)

- Acknowledge them.

It is you they're cheering. (people applauding)

- (chuckles) Is it wise to be seen riding together, Joab?

- What could be more natural?

You take an interest in the army,

so you ride with the general in command.

But much more important.

- [Adonijah] Yes?

- It shows that the army is behind you.

Solomon's a weakling.

- You speak harshly of my brother?

- Half-brother.

With him on the throne, this country

will fall apart within five years.

- Or Bathsheba would rule.

Solomon's mother's not as strong as she would like to think.

- Stronger than her son.

- So is my eunuch.

(both laughing)

Bathsheba doesn't understand that Israel's strength

lies in her fighting men.

You do, so the army's behind you.

(Adonijah chuckles)

And look at the people, they love you.

You're the image of what a prince should be.

And when the time comes, and I think

it will not be long, we must strike.

Then, the throne of Israel is yours.

Now, where do we find this young woman you lust after?

- (laughs) You wait 'til you see her.

(both laughing)

- Make way!

Make way!

Come on, come on! (horses clomping)

(chickens clucking)

I'm Joab, general in charge of the armed forces of Israel.

You're commanded to present yourself

and your daughter at the court of King David.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Arise.

You are in no danger.

I am Bathsheba, wife of King David, mother of Solomon.

He tells me your daughter heals wounds.

Is that true?

- It is quite true, my queen.

- I'm not a queen.

He flatters me because he thinks it will be to his benefit.

Come here, child.

You're beautiful.

So you're skilled in herbs?

- I have some knowledge, Majesty.

- It is our wish that your daughter

remains here to nurse the king.

General Joab, I'm thankful for your interest

in bringing this girl here.

You may go now.

- As you wish.

- You may all go.

Azarel, come here.

What I am about to tell you is vital information,

worth much to the king's enemies.

You love the king?

- Israel exists only because of King David,

for God loves him.

- The king's life is drawing to its close.

Israel is divided, and only King David

can bring us all together.

That's why I want your daughter to use all her power

to bring back the health of King David.

And I promise that when she will leave,

she will take with her a dowry fit for a queen,

and she will be as pure as she is today.

- It shall be as you wish.

- Good.

So, my dear, we'll prepare you to meet the king.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Joab] He will not survive, and when he dies,

who are they going to put on the throne?

- Solomon. - Solomon!

And you know as well as I do, our kingdom

will be lost with him on the throne.

- [Abiathar] You know that's treason you're talking.

- [Joab] Treason?

(choir singing in foreign language)

It's our duty to consider the succession.

- But it is the king's will that Solomon succeed him.

- But is it God's will, Abiathar?

- Joab, God's will and King David's will

are one and the same.

- Is it God's will that His kingdom be governed

by a weak man, without ambition for himself or his people?

Of course, as priests, I look to you

for guidance in these matters.

- And the army?

- [Joab] Well, naturally, they'll follow your lead.

- And yours, General Joab.

- Adonijah should, must be our new king.

But he cannot, will not, unless you,

his newly-elected high priest, anoint him.

- High Priest?

- Of course, let me explain.

It is essential that Adonijah be crowned before David dies.

- [Bathsheba] Abishag.

- Well, come closer, come closer.

There's no need to fear me.

Oh, she makes me wish I were young again,

but then, my dearest, so do you.

Do you sing, child?

- A little, my Lord King.

- Play for your king.

(peaceful harp music)

(metal clanking) (Joab barking)

(horse clomping)

- All is prepared for tomorrow

at the Stone Zoheleth near Enrogel.

I'll send a company there with food

and wine enough to feast a thousand.

- And the priests?

- (laughs) Abiathar is riding there even now.

- It has come to pass.

- [Joab] In the morning, I'll spread

the word through the marketplace.

This time tomorrow, Adonijah, you will be King of Israel.

- Close, close up! (people shouting)

Close, close up!

- Hey, what's going on?

- Haven't you heard?

They are anointing the new king at the Stone Zoheleth.

Food and drink for everyone!

(people cheer)

- New king? - Adonijah.

- Adonijah? - Adonijah!

- But Solomon. - Adonijah, I said!

Long live the king!

Don't you agree?

- Long live the king.

(board thuds) - Close up, close, close!

Close up!

- Long live the king.

- Close! (dramatic orchestral music)

Close it, close up!

Close, close up, close!

(people chattering)

(people laughing)

(horse clomping)

- What do you have to report?

- You will be shocked to learn,

at the Stone Zoheleth, this very moment,

Adonijah is being anointed king.

Abiathar and Joab anoint him.

- Thank you, God bless you. - God go with you.

(David groans)

- May the King live forever.

- Oh, oh!

So formal, my love.

Why?

What is it now?

- It was always your promise to me

that Solomon would be king in your place?

- Yes, I made that vow.

- Well, today, your son Adonijah

is to be anointed to be King of Israel.

- What?

By whose authority?

- With the support of the army and much of the priesthood.

- Joab?

- Even so.

(David sighs)

- Joab, Joab has been loyal for 30 years.

- He betrays you at this moment.

- (chuckles) Nathan, come closer.

(pants) Is this all true?

- It is, my lord.

He is to make sacrifices

and Abiathar will pour the holy oil.

They are traveling to the altar

of Stone Zoheleth at this moment.

- The eyes of Israel are on you

to tell them who shall be their king.

- I am their king.

And as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel,

that your son Solomon shall succeed me as king,

so shall I swear today. (pants)

Zadok, does he remain loyal?

- He does, and many other priests.

- And the palace guard.

- Good.

Nathan, take Zadok and the other loyal priests

and the palace guard.

Have Solomon ride on a donkey from my stables,

not a horse, on my donkey, bring him down to Gihon.

And there, let Zadok anoint him king over all Israel.

This is my will.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(David panting)

- My king.

(dramatic choral symphony music)

(donkey braying)

(people chattering)

- You are a witness to history, my wife.

Today, God decides who is to lead His people.

Two men now claiming the throne, but I, for one,

will follow the choice of King David.

(horse whinnies)

(people cheering)

(majestic orchestral music)

(trumpets blaring)

- Let the High Prince Adonijah approach to be anointed king.

- [Man] Solomon is being crowned king!

- Wait, stop him! (people shouting)

- [Man] Stop him!

- What is the meaning of this?

- Hear me, wait!

- Bring him forward!

- They are going to anoint Solomon king!

- You lie!

It's not true!

I am anointed by God. (people cheering)

- Listen, it's true!

You can see the procession from that ridge.

(people muttering)

Solomon is being anointed king

by a decree from King David himself.

I'll show you.

- Stop! - Come on!

- Wait, stop!

I am your king!

I command you to stop!

(horn blaring)

- Look!

I told you!

- That is the palace guard.

- And Zadok. - And Nathan the prophet.

- They would act only on the word of King David.

- We've been lied to.

- This is no king.

- Treason, that's what it is.

I want no part of it.

(horn blaring) (people shouting)

- Stop! (dramatic orchestral music)

Wait!

I am your king, appointed by God!

I command you to stop!

Joab, stop them!

- How?

- Use your army!

- To do what?

The people fear God more than they do the army.

- Joab!

- We lost!

We moved too soon.

Bathsheba beat us.

- Too soon?

Lost?

You've killed us!

- Probably.

I think that's not the only sacrificial blood

that will be shed this day.

What's this?

- I will not leave this place.

Go and tell Solomon I will not leave this place

'til he swears he will not kill me.

- Adonijah, come down!

- Do as I say!

- As you wish, Your Majesty.

- You have proven your courage once again,

by delivering yourself to this court.

- As always, I serve my king.

- Not always, Joab.

You killed Absalom, my son.

- [Joab] Because he rose against you, my lord.

- I commanded he be dealt with gently, you struck him down!

- In a victory for your armies, my lord!

- Now you have risen against me.

- No, my lord, never!

Against these, yes!

But not against my king.

- Then bow to your king.

King Solomon!

(people muttering)

- As long as you live, Father,

there is only one king in this land. (smooches)

- The penalty for your actions is death.

- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

My judgment is this,

while I live, you live.

When I'm dead, your life is in the hands of your new king.

You're dismissed from your command.

You're banished from Jerusalem.

- Thank you, my lord.

As always, your judgment is full of compassion.

- And now, Adonijah.

What of him?

Hmm?

- It is as you wish, Father.

- He's also my son, Solomon.

I cannot be impartial in my judgment.

It was you he sought to harm.

You must judge him.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- He is guilty of treason.

The penalty is death.

(metal clanking) (horses clomping)

- I meant you no harm!

I swear it, I swear it!

(horse whinnies)

I beg of you, spare me my life,

for the love you once bore me!

Solomon, Solomon!

- Our father showed mercy to Joab.

I shall do no less for you.

If you prove a loyal and worthy man,

not one of your hairs shall fall to the ground.

But if treachery is found in you, you shall die.

- My brothers and my people, hear me.

I had planned to build a house of rest

for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

But God said to me, you shall not build a house for My name,

for you are a warrior, you have shed blood.

It is your son, Solomon,

who shall build My house and My courts.

Solomon, my son, know the God of your father

and serve him well, with a single mind and willing heart.

For the Lord has chosen you to build a house as a sanctuary.

Be strong and obey.

Er.

(people chattering) (dramatic orchestral music)

These are the plans for the vestibules,

treasuries, upper rooms and inner chambers

and all that God wishes for His house, as given to me.

My son is young and inexperienced.

His task is great, as this shall not be

a temple for mortals but for the Lord.

But I have provided as far as I was able.

Uh, bring in.

(people chattering)

Of my God, I give to my God, and I ask you to do the same.

For this shall be the House of the Lord.

Bless the Lord, our God.

- [All] Bless the Lord, our God.

- Solomon, Solomon, remember, Solomon.

A king must be strong.

If someone bars your way, he threatens not just you

but the good of the kingdom as a whole.

You must cut him down, like wheat.

Can you do that, hmm?

- I can, Father.

- I should never have granted the life of Joab.

He served me well, but he has served you badly.

When I'm dead, kill him, just kill him, kill him.

If he plots with Adonijah, kill them both, kill them.

You must now be king, Solomon.

King!

(majestic choral symphony music)

King Solomon!

- King Solomon!

- [All] King Solomon, King Solomon, King Solomon!

King Solomon, King Solomon, King Solomon!

King Solomon, King Solomon, King Solomon!

King Solomon, King Solomon, King Solomon!

(tools clanking)

- Abiathar!

- Joab!

- So this is what you do in exile? (laughs)

- (laughs) Yes, I've become a farmer.

(Joab laughs)

Long live our glorious king!

- May he reign for at least another day!

(both laughing)

- Come!

Let me offer you some wine.

- Good.

There's talk of Solomon building a temple.

- [Abiathar] I've heard so.

I should preside as High Priest when it's finished.

- [Joab] You may yet.

- How?

Solomon put that ancient fossil Zadok in my place.

- Well, we simply struck too soon.

I should have known, while David's still alive.

But our time will come at the moment he dies.

Solomon, a king. (chuckles)

If I had been in his place, we'd both be dead men.

- And who will you put in Solomon's place?

- Adonijah, of course.

- Adonijah?

I thought you despised his cowardice at the altar.

- Even cowards can be useful at the right moment.

(dramatic orchestral music) (David chuckling)

- Did you tell yourself a joke?

- For some reason, a song keeps coming into my head.

- A song?

- Yes, you remember I once wrote a song to the Lord

on the day we were delivered from Saul?

- Of course, everyone knows it.

- Ah, for the waves of death encompassed me,

the torrents of perdition assailed me,

the cords of Sheol entangled me,

the snares of death confronted me. (chuckles)

- So?

- We were so dramatic, torrents, snares, waves.

Death is not like that at all.

- Talk of death to your other wives.

I'm only interested in your beauty and your wealth.

(both chuckling)

- Bathsheba, do you know what I fear from death most of all?

- What?

- The absence of you.

(horn blaring)

(somber orchestral music)

- You'll never have her now.

- Joab.

- She has status now.

She's no longer the daughter of a simple salt-fish dealer.

She was the favorite of our greatest king.

- I know this, I know this.

- When she's passed along to Solomon, he'll have her.

- Give me peace, Joab!

(women ululating)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(fire crackling)

(harp thuds)

(wood thuds)

(boulder thuds)

- Thank you for granting me this audience.

- Do you come in peace?

- In peace.

May I speak openly with you?

- Go on.

- You know, you know the kingdom was mine,

and all of Israel expected me to reign.

But things change, and the kingdom has fallen to my brother.

- For it was his, from the Lord.

- So now, I have one request to make of you.

Please do not refuse me.

- Go on.

- Please ask Solomon, King Solomon,

for he will not refuse you, to give me Abishag as my wife.

(Bathsheba scoffs)

- Men.

(chuckles) This is all you want?

Very well, I will speak to the king.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- God of my father and my father's father,

give me strength and courage that I may be

worthy of this honorable duty,

and serve you well, for I am weak

and fearful.

Forgive me, Father.

I do not deserve your throne,

but now I must be king, as you commanded.

- May the King live forever.

- Oh, Mother!

Please take...

Bring a chair for my mother!

- The ruler of Israel bows to no one, Solomon.

- Yes, I can see that.

Come, Mother, don't be humble.

Take your rightful place.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- I have a request to make.

Do not refuse me.

- Make your request, my mother,

for you know that I will not refuse you.

- Give Abishag to your brother as his wife.

- And why do you ask this for Adonijah?

- Because he came, as a request.

I tell you so you may know his mind.

- His mind is to have the throne.

- Good, my son.

- And so he begins again.

First, he asks for this maiden,

then next he will ask for the kingdom,

for he knows that any show of weakness on my part

will be a demonstration of his power.

- Joab is near to that.

- Now, therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me

and placed me on this throne of my Father, David.

Today,

Adonijah and Joab must die.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(dog barking)

- [Man] Traitor!

- [Man] Get him!

(rock thuds) - Yeah!

(Adonijah whimpers)

(rocks thudding)

(sword squelches) (Adonijah yelps)

- I was to be king.

- But you die as a traitor.

(sword clangs) (Adonijah groans)

(body thuds)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(donkey braying)

- I ordered you to kill him!

- But my Lord King, he has taken sanctuary!

Even now, he's in the Holy Tabernacle,

clinging to the altar!

- I don't care where he is.

Strike him down!

- Joab?

It's by command of the king.

You are to die.

The king commands you come out, Joab.

- No.

I'll die here.

- I beg you, don't make me kill you there.

I would commit sacrilege.

- Which you cannot, dare not, Benaiah.

I'm not ready to die.

(sword clangs)

(Benaiah roars)

(Joab gurgling)

(dramatic choral symphony music)

(metal clanking)

- Now will I prepare to build Your temple,

Lord, here at the altar of Gibeon.

I'll make sacrifices, cleanse my heart, and listen.

(wind whistling) (tree rustling)

- [God] Solomon, enter, Solomon.

(birds chirping)

(peaceful choral symphony music)

Ask what you will of Me, Solomon.

- I am only as a child, my Lord.

I do not know how to go out or come in.

Grant me the wisdom and knowledge

to righteously rule this great people of yours.

- [God] Because you have not asked for riches

or long life or the lives of your enemies,

I give you the wisdom of a clear and discerning mind.

But you must walk in My ways,

keeping My statutes and My commandments.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(soldiers shouting) (swords clanging)

(shield thuds) (sword clangs)

(men screaming)

- This skirmish was simply a patrol to test our strength.

Our scouts confirm massed forces

just inside the Egyptian border,

which can mean only one thing.

The new pharaoh, Shishak, prepares to invade.

- Well, if we do have a war on our hands.

- [All] God be with us.

- Jerusalem, the Egyptian border, Tyre.

General Benaiah, I want officers

to ride to every city in Israel,

measuring the distance in the number of days it takes.

And I want to know the strength of our army in each city,

foot soldiers, cavalry, charioteers.

If we must fight, I want to know what chance we have.

By royal decree, from today, the Kingdom of Israel

and Judah will be divided into 12 provinces.

I will appoint a governor over each

who will be responsible directly to me,

who will administer law and order,

and who will oversee the collection of taxes.

(people muttering)

Which from today will be increased by 1/10.

(people shouting)

(rhythmic drum music)

Very impressive, General Benaiah.

- Yes, but they are few compared to the legions of Egypt.

If they invade, there'll be many widows in Israel.

- When the Egyptians advance, fall back before them.

Don't fight.

Let thirst and the desert do our fighting for us.

- We can only fall back so far,

my lord, before we must fight.

- Happily, we won't have to.

Your king is to be married, Benaiah, a wedding!

I'm arranging to marry the daughter of the pharaoh!

(laughs) Let's hope she isn't ugly. (barks)

(chariot rattling)

(dramatic orchestral music) (people cheering)

(water splashing)

Ah, Nathan.

- [Nathan] So, how is married life?

- Very pleasant, very pleasant, indeed. (laughs)

- [Nathan] But I have a matter of some concern.

- Speak.

- It is rumored you're allowing

your Egyptian wife to build a temple to Amon-Ra.

- I had to, of course.

It's a political marriage.

It's part of the treaty.

I'm not going to war over one woman's temple

to a foreign god.

- It's against God's law.

- Does God want war, Nathan?

I think not.

- What of the other wives?

- I haven't got any other wives.

- You may eventually have many wives.

(Solomon scoffs)

You grant the same to all of them?

- Nathan, the thought of having many wives

is too terrifying to contemplate.

I can barely satisfy this one.

(water splashing)

Nathan, I worship the one true God.

He will understand even if you will not.

- The king must be aware that any child

from the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt

cannot inherit the thrones of Israel and Judah.

(people chattering)

- I am perfectly aware of that, Zadok.

But the council must also be aware that there are

other reasons for marriage than just the begetting of heirs.

I married the Pharaoh's daughter to avert war and bloodshed.

- But my lord--

- Zadok, in future, be advised that I will marry

to consolidate my lands and to promote trade.

I will marry to ensure peace with my allies,

to discomfort my enemies and to please myself.

And I assure you that I will marry to beget heirs

to the throne, when I am ready. (laughs)

(people chattering)

(lively percussion and flute music)

(dancers clapping)

(dramatic orchestral music)

Is it always like this?

- Oh, I find fathers always survive the ordeal.

(Solomon sighs)

(baby crying)

- A boy!

- Oh, a fine Jewish boy.

- I shall call him Rehoboam, as a sign

that the people of Israel shall multiply.

Mother, meet the heir to the throne of David. (laughs)

(Solomon claps) - Shh.

- A boy, a boy!

The King has a boy!

(people chattering)

(staff clacks)

The purchaser of the horse claims he was not told

of the vicious nature of the beast.

Yet in the terms of the contract,

he was perfectly at liberty to try the animal

before offering payment or accepting delivery.

The seller has the right to remain silent

and let the buyer find any fault he can.

It is the buyer's fault if he does not do so.

The buyer must pay full price.

(people chattering)

- Thank you, my lord. - Thank you, my king.

- Zadok, why are there so many people here today?

- There is great interest in the next case, my lord.

The facts are simple but the case, very complex.

Your judgment is eagerly awaited.

(staff clacks)

My Lord King, the facts of this case

are well established and are not in dispute.

The two petitioners share a house on the outskirts

of Gilead, where they ply their trade as prostitutes.

Some six months ago, one gave birth,

and shortly thereafter, the second did likewise.

Both had boy children.

This dispute arose after one of the babies died.

You may each state your case.

- You go first, you lying cow, then I'll tell the truth.

- Well, we each have our own room.

- Are you a citizen of this country?

Yet you show no respect to your king?

(people chattering)

Now, rise, state your name and the facts as you see them.

- My name is Basemah.

It was just us in the house, us and our babies.

I'd gone to bed with little Joachim.

That's his name.

- Michael, Michael is his name!

- Silence! (people chattering)

- Me and Joachim went to sleep.

And I'd given him a good meal,

and he was a happy little baby.

Well, that pig must have rolled on her baby and killed him

because when I woke up, there was her baby beside me, dead.

And my Joachim was gone.

- Liar! - Silence!

- A mother knows her own baby!

- That is my baby!

- Silence!

(baby crying)

- I'd pick him out from a thousand!

(people chattering)

(staff clacks)

- What is your name?

- Hannah, my lord.

- Tell your story, Hannah.

- It's a pack of lies!

She's clumsy enough to smother her own child

and thinks she can get away with claiming mine!

That's my Michael!

And no woman or man on earth is going

to take him away from me, Your Majesty.

- That is for the King to decide.

Lay the child on that table.

My judgment is this.

Since both women claim the living child

and neither claim the dead child, it is therefore fair

that they should share the living child.

So I will cut the child in half!

(people screaming) (people shouting)

(baby crying)

- Spare my baby! (cries)

Don't kill him!

She can have him.

- (moans) Oh! (cries)

- [Solomon] God bless this child.

- [Crowd] God bless this child.

- [Solomon] And his children's children.

- [Crowd] And his children's children.

- And most of all,

his true mother.

(baby cooing)

(people chattering) (Basemah crying)

- [Crowd] Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon, Solomon!

(Solomon laughs)

(Solomon roars)

- Back to work, back to work! (claps)

Who is the idiot who is stopping the men from working?

- Rehoboam, my son, I want you to meet

the man who is in charge of all the building

of this magnificent temple to God,

the finest architect in the world, Hiram of Naphtali.

Say, rise, Hiram of Naphtali.

- Rise, Hiram of Naphtali.

- (laughs) And accept the apology of the idiot

who was stopping your men from working.

- Back to work, back to work, the idiot is leaving.

(men laughing)

(tools clanking)

- I am very sorry, Your Majesty.

- It is I who should apologize.

I was having too much fun.

Kings are not supposed to have fun.

(chuckles) All goes well?

- Yes, Your Majesty.

My men work hard and your people learn fast.

In a year or so, I shall be able

to send some of my foremen home,

and they can be replaced by your men.

- Excellent.

- Some water?

- Yes, thank you.

(donkey braying)

- Your Majesty, may I be permitted a question?

- Of course.

- This temple, it will really be for God?

God will live there?

- [Solomon] Yes, Hiram, God will live there.

- But can God live on earth?

- Hmm, that's an interesting question, Hiram.

Can God live on earth?

Well, even heaven cannot contain God,

much less this house that you are building.

But God said, "My name shall be there, that you may heed

"the prayer your servant prays towards this place."

I believe God wants us to have a place to look towards,

a place where we know He hears our prayers.

So you must do your best work, Hiram.

God has said this house shall stand forever.

- Forever?

- Forever.

- I shall try my best, Your Majesty.

- Yah! (laughs)

now, who will oversee the men of Israel

once your men are departed, Hiram?

- Why, I shall, Your Majesty.

- Hmm, the men of Israel don't work well

under foreign leadership.

Don't be offended.

They're a difficult bunch.

Do you have an Israeli working for you

who is industrious and able, one you can trust?

- Jeroboam.

Jeroboam!

- Rise.

Hiram of Naphtali says that you're clever,

hardworking and able to lead men.

This is true, Hiram?

- It is, Your Majesty.

- I'm going to take his recommendation and put you

in charge of all of the laborers, starting today.

- Yes, Your Majesty.

- Make sure they work hard.

This is God's house you're building.

The temple will need musicians, of course.

- Yes, my lord.

- And I want only the very best, the most skilled.

And I want the men who make the instruments, too.

- Yes, my lord.

- It will also be a school

where all the arts and sciences are taught.

(laughs) My children! (kids cheering)

(Solomon claps)

- Enough, enough!

Come and show your father what you've learned.

(rhythmic percussion music) (kids clapping)

Turn.

- Every one of my wives, (chuckles)

every one of them, says that you are an old lizard

and you're not putting their child in the front row

or heeding their child's particular talent--

- Silence, watch the dance.

(kids clapping)

- Wives, I wish I could cut some of them in half.

- You're a fool to have so many wives.

- I like women, Mother.

- Moses said a man shouldn't acquire

many wives or else his heart turns away.

- But I'm not a man, I'm a king! (laughs)

- Moses was talking about a king.

No, keep together!

No, no, no, the left foot!

I've told you and told you and told you,

you do not go beyond that circle before you start to turn!

(dramatic orchestral music)

Oh no, oh!

(body thuds) (people shouting)

(kids laughing)

- Mother!

Mother!

- Solomon.

(Solomon crying)

(woman singing in foreign language)

(people cheering) (people whistling)

- Praise the Lord, God of Israel.

He has kept all His promises made to the king, my father.

And I, in turn, have kept my vows,

both to God and to my father.

The people of Israel have built this temple

as a dwelling place for the God Most High

and as a resting place for this Holy Ark of the Covenant.

It is fitting that the laws given to Moses

by the Lord God Himself should be kept forever in His house.

Grant, Lord God, that we keep Your laws

and please You in all that we do,

both from this day and forevermore.

I pray You, look kindly on this place

and make it a house of prayer

for all nations and all peoples.

(inspirational choral symphony music)

(thunder crashes)

(people screaming)

(wind whistling) (dramatic orchestral music)

- [God] I have heard your prayer, Solomon.

I will grant your wish that I live

in the temple you have built for Me.

As for you, if you follow My laws,

as did your father, David, then I will be

with you until the end of your days.

But if you turn away from Me and serve other gods but Me,

then I will destroy the temple that you have built for Me.

(birds chirping)

(elephant trumpets)

(elephants trumpeting) (people chattering)

(camel grunting)

(mysterious flute music)

(donkey braying)

- Who are you?

What are these magnificent beasts?

(people speaking in foreign language)

Where are you going?

Hello?

Hello, may I present myself?

I'm King Solomon, the King of Israel.

(Makida laughs)

(elephant trumpets)

(laughs) Actually, it's true.

I am the King of Israel.

Where are you going?

- [Makida] To Jerusalem.

Ride ahead and tell your king

that the Queen of Sheba is coming.

(upbeat percussion music)

- (laughs) Thank you.

I'll be sure to tell the king.

(monkeys screeching)

(horns blaring)

(mysterious flute music)

(jewelry rattling)

I am King Solomon of Israel and Judah.

I bid you welcome on behalf of all of my countrymen.

- The fame of King Solomon has spread

like a rising tide, even as far as Axum and Saaba.

I have crossed the desert for many months

to bathe in the ocean of his wisdom

and to see his considerable skills on a donkey.

(people chuckling)

I am Makida, Queen of Sheba.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(people applauding)

- [Makida] Is this a shrine to Astarte?

- It is.

- [Makida] How can this be allowed?

You worship your one God.

- We're a trading nation.

Merchants come from all over the world.

If they couldn't worship their gods,

they'd go somewhere else.

- [Makida] How strange, to put trade before faith?

- (laughs) Now you sound like my priests.

(elephant trumpets)

Something is wrong with the fruit?

- [Makida] Nothing, just an ant.

- Just an ant?

You should consider them.

I've learned much from watching ants.

- [Makida] You watch the ants?

- Oh, yes, it's fascinating.

We think the lion the king among beasts but what does he do?

He finds his lair, he does not build it.

And he would rather sleep

while his lioness does the hunting.

But the ant builds his own city.

They have their ruler, their soldiers,

and they all work together for the common good.

Oh, we would do well to study the ants.

- [Makida] Oh! (laughs)

- (laughs) But I wish they'd find their own food.

(both laughing)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Keep the Lord's commandments and teachings

as the apple of your eye.

Train your children well so when old,

they will not fail you.

And he who loves discipline, loves knowledge.

He who hates to be rebuked is stupid.

Also, those who belittle another lack sense.

And the righteous know the needs of their animals.

Only the wicked are cruel.

(people laughing)

(chuckles) A soft answer turns away wrath.

(people laughing)

The beginning of strife is like a leak of water,

so stop before the argument begins.

And remember, the wise man remains silent,

so even fools who keep quiet can be considered wise.

(audience laughing)

(audience applauding)

(mellow flute and drum music)

I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

But in you, there is an understanding, clear,

undefiled, plain, loving the thing that is good.

You see as only a woman can, a mirror to God's goodness.

You are the queen to my king.

I've sought you ever since I was a youth

without knowing what it was I was seeking.

- Solomon, more than anything else

in the world, I want to bear you a son.

- (chuckles) Then our minds are as one.

More than anything else in the world, I want to marry you.

- Solomon, I cannot abandon my people forever.

A crown is like a seam of gold.

There are always those who seek it.

One day, I will have to return.

- But a boy from you,

that promises us a whole year together.

- You shall have your year.

And I will be your wife.

Yes, (chuckles) I will.

(dancers clapping)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(people applauding)

- Oh, my love, how much better are

your kisses than wine. (pants)

- My lord?

- Not now, Jeroboam, I'm late to meet my queen.

- They sent me to speak for them.

- Who sent you?

- The elders, the officers of the court.

They say we are friends, they say you will listen to me.

- Very well, what is it?

Say it!

- The ship of state needs someone at the steering oar.

- What does that mean, Jeroboam?

- There are matters which demand your attention

other than the Queen of Sheba's thighs.

- Jeroboam, listen to me and listen to me carefully.

I love her, above duty, above health.

I choose her over light.

She is the breath of God.

- Solomon, she's a woman.

- Exactly.

- Oh, oh, feel.

(moans) It's a boy.

(chuckles) I am sure.

The way he kicks, ooh, he will be a great athlete.

- My love, if it is a boy, I want him to be

my heir, King of Israel and Judah.

- But you've promised it to Rehoboam.

(dramatic orchestral music)

He is to be your heir.

- Unless I decide otherwise.

Stay here with me.

We will raise a mighty king, strong, wise,

whose voice will be heard throughout the land,

proclaiming the righteousness of the Lord.

(baby crying)

(Solomon sighs)

(baby cooing)

I knew it!

A boy, a boy!

A king!

I shall call you Menelik, the Chosen One.

Thank you, God, thank you!

(Solomon laughing)

- No, it is out of the question!

It's outrageous that you could even contemplate such an act!

- She is not of our faith!

I don't know who she worships,

but it is not the one true God.

- She wishes to embrace our faith!

- You know the law!

She must be one of us,

raised and born in fear of the living God!

(people chattering)

- That is your final word?

- It is the Holy Law.

(people chattering)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Don't ask.

- But please, please stay.

- To join your 700 wives? - Never!

- I am the queen of my country.

My son is the heir.

I have been blinded by my love

for you, but now they have let me see.

At first, I was a curiosity.

Now, I am a hated stranger. - Never hated.

- You can rule your people, Solomon,

but you cannot command them to love me,

or our son.

(Solomon crying)

(camels grunting) (people chattering)

(donkey braying)

- Look at them, more gold.

- 600 talents of gold, I've heard tell.

- 600?

That's a whole year of taxes for the entire country.

- He's gone mad.

- You never know what a man will do

when he starts thinking with his groin.

- Look at them, our finest citizens commanded to relocate.

- I don't pay taxes to pour into some hole in Africa.

- Why are we still paying these taxes?

I thought once the temple was built.

- That's why!

(donkey braying)

(drink splashing)

- What is this?

(cup clatters) Gold cups!

I want nothing but gold!

(drink splashes)

Ah, gold.

Good.

Do you know why it is good, Jeroboam?

Because one man goes deep into the earth

to dig it up, another man melts it

to make it pure, another shapes it into a cup,

and another etches a beautiful design upon it.

Why?

So the King can have the very best, that is why.

All is vanity.

- Solomon.

- All things are wearisome, Jeroboam,

more than one can express.

The eye is not satisfied with the seeing,

the ear is not filled with the hearing,

yet there is nothing new under the sun.

- Solomon.

- I applied my mind to seek and search out wisdom,

and it is an unhappy business that God has given

human beings, for all is vanity.

- You have acquired much wisdom, Solomon.

- Much wisdom is much vexation!

Those who increase in knowledge, increase in sorrow.

- That is not true.

- No?

I said to myself, come, Solomon,

make a test of pleasure, enjoy yourself.

I searched with my mind how to,

how to cheer my body so that I might see

what it was that mortals should do

under heaven in the few days of their lives. (laughs)

Vanity, I made great works.

I have great possessions, delights of the flesh.

Whatever my eye desires, I did not keep from them.

Vanity.

- Solomon, you are a king to your people.

- What happens to the fool will also happen to the king.

All come from dust, to dust all shall return.

Why, then, do I have to be so wise?

(chuckles) Vanity.

- You gave us the temple, Solomon--

- The temple I must leave to those who come after.

Who knows whether they will be wise or foolish?

It is not for them, it is for me!

Vanity!

Jeroboam, what do mortals get from all the toil and strain?

All our days are full of pain.

Even at night, our minds do not rest.

This is also vanity.

- It is God's will.

- Oh, God's will!

Every time a question is asked that cannot be answered,

someone always says, it is God's will!

I believe God's will is already written.

Man has nothing to do with it.

There is a season for everything and a time

for every purpose under the heaven, all God's iron will.

A time to be born, a time to die,

a time to kill, a time to heal,

a time to weep, a time to laugh,

a time to dance, a time to mourn.

God's will?

Business that God has given everyone

just, just to keep them busy!

But we cannot know God.

We cannot find out what God has done

from the beginning to the end.

Because what is, already has been,

and what is to be, already is.

Vanity is all there is.

(laughs) The more words, the more vanity.

The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,

nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligence,

but time and chance happen to them all.

Mere chance, belief otherwise is vanity.

- I believe in God.

(horse clopping)

(horse whinnies)

- Jeroboam, remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

before the days of troubles come, for the years draw near,

faster than you think, when you will say,

I have no pleasure.

When strong men are bent, the golden bowl is broken,

and the breath returns to God who gave it.

(Solomon sighs)

Vanity of vanities.

All is vanity.

(dramatic orchestral music) (cart rattling)

- The King is here, he's here!

Quickly.

Welcome, my husband and king.

(Solomon chuckles)

(bird screeches)

- Is the great goddess Ashtoreth answering your prayers?

- She doesn't have to answer our prayers.

She grants us children and cares

for the spirits of our loved ones in the afterlife.

They shine down on us each night.

- Make an offering to the Mother of us all.

- (chuckles) No, no, no, no, I worship the one true God.

- Make an offering for the Mother of true love

and your children, for the love you have shown me.

(smoke hisses)

(Solomon and women chuckling)

- It is written that the children of Israel

should beware of marrying outside the faith.

If you persist in your worship of false gods,

you will bring God's anger on your own head

and onto all this land of Israel and Judah!

- I study the world!

It is possible to learn from the false as well as the true.

God has given me the gift of wisdom,

and I shall use it as I see fit!

(people muttering)

Now you stick to the tasks that God

and I have given you, Zadok,

and I will stick to mine.

(people chattering)

Self-righteous fools!

- They know the law, and they know you are breaking it.

- It was I who was given the gift of wisdom,

by God Himself, not those doddering, old windbags.

- They are God's representatives on earth.

- I am God's representative on earth.

I am His anointed.

What business is it of theirs

if I show a tolerance to foreign gods?

- Building temples to them is more than showing tolerance!

- (chuckles) What do you know?

You are a laborer.

- This laborer thinks you should

take one of your secret walks.

(people laughing) (people chattering)

- On a hill, not far from my farm,

you can see it from my sheep pens, an altar to Chemosh.

I keep my woman and kids inside

under lock and key when they're about.

Disgusting, shouldn't be allowed.

And you know who I saw up there?

The King himself, yes, it's true, with his fancy women.

All over them, he was.

Yes dearest, no dearest.

(both laughing)

- They're all over the place, these altars,

like a plague of boils!

- Ha, let's go and pull it down.

(men laughing) (dramatic orchestral music)

(tools clanking) (men grunting)

(stone crunching)

(men laughing)

(coins rattling)

- I carry nothing.

- You carry a heavy burden of wrongs

against the one true God.

Because you have turned against Me

and not kept covenant with Me, I will tear your kingdom

from you and give it to your servant.

For your father, David's sake,

while you live, you shall rule.

But when you die, I will divide the kingdom.

I will give your son one tribe,

but the rest will I tear from him.

Thus speaks the Lord, your God.

(rooster crows)

(horse clomping) (mysterious orchestral music)

- Ah, Jeroboam, come, eat.

I've been waiting for you.

- You know my name?

Who are you?

Did the King send you?

- [Ahijah] Not the King you mean.

I'm Ahijah from Shiloh.

I serve our God, as I know you do also.

Some say I'm a prophet.

- [Jeroboam] And are you?

- Perhaps, perhaps I hear God more clearly than most.

Oh, I have a message for you.

This is strong new cloth.

Have you a knife?

- Good, come.

(cloth scratching)

These 12 pieces of my cloak represent

the 12 tribes of Israel.

This is God's word to you.

Solomon has broken his laws and worshiped false gods.

You have not.

So, thus speaks the God of Israel.

He will take the kingdom away from Solomon's son, Rehoboam,

give it to you, that is, the 10 tribes.

Now, he will give the tribe of Judah to Rehoboam,

so that his servant, David, will always have

a lamp before him in Jerusalem.

Do you understand?

Good, then I must be on my way.

Keep God's law, and He will keep faith with you.

Come.

Come!

- Where are you going?

- To deliver the last two pieces of my cloak.

(laughs) Come on!

- God would do this?

- I am simply His messenger.

- I should have you killed.

- I know it is sometimes the custom to kill the messenger

who bears bad news, but the messenger from God?

I would think carefully.

(Solomon gasps)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Guard, guard! (pants)

Start a search.

I want Jeroboam found and killed.

He must not escape.

A thousand measures of gold

to the man who brings me back his body!

(Solomon crying)

Oh Lord, Lord, oh Lord!

Oh Lord! (cries)

(Solomon crying)

(dramatic orchestral music) (metal clanking)

(horse grunts)

- A gift from Ahijah, the Shilonite.

Keep that, too.

(horse whinnies)

Now ride for Egypt.

Your life is in grave danger.

Stay there until you hear that Solomon is dead.

Ride for your life! (roars)

(horse clomping)

- Where is my son?

Where is Rehoboam?

Rehoboam, my days draw to an end.

And I have been a fool.

Listen to me, my son, listen to me.

Fear God and keep His commandments.

- I understand you, Father.

- Deal, deal wisely with the tribes.

- Don't worry, Father.

I know how to deal with them.

- No, no, no! (gurgles)

(somber orchestral music)

(people chattering)

- Clear the way for the King. (people applauding)

(people cheering)

(birds chirping)

- Well, I've come to be anointed as your king.

Have you lost your tongues?

(door clanks)

(people cheering)

(people applauding)

You!

- Your father broke God's Holy Law

and His punishment has fallen on His people.

They groaned under Solomon's taxes.

They bled under the lash of his forced labor.

They will tolerate these things no longer!

(people cheering)

They want your word there will be no more forced labor,

and the taxes will be fair!

- Yes! (people cheering)

- Otherwise, they refuse to become your subjects.

(people cheering)

- They refuse?

I will discuss these matters with my council.

We meet again in three days.

(people shouting)

- I beg you, my lord, consider carefully.

Your noble father always preferred peace to war.

Of all wars that can be waged,

the worst, the most bloody is a civil war.

It would be the end of the kingdom.

(people shouting)

- You are King!

Any sign of weakness, if you give way to their demands,

they will walk over you like cattle over a meadow!

I say, stand firm!

Why listen to these old graybeards?

(people applauding) (people cheering)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- I have heard the young men of Judah.

They acknowledge me King.

As for you, you thought my father's yoke was heavy?

Wait until you feel mine.

You thought my father's taxes too high.

Mine will crush you.

How dare you speak out against your lawful King?

My father chastised you with whips.

I shall use scorpions!

I am your King!

This finger is thicker than my father's thigh!

(people chattering)

- That is your final word?

- I have nothing more to say.

- So be it.

You have heard your King!

Will you serve him?

- No! - No!

(people shouting)

- Then we are no longer one nation!

The prophesy was true.

The glory of Solomon is gone forever.

- [Narrator] The prophesy was indeed true.

Jeroboam ruled the 10 tribes of Israel.

Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to Rehoboam.

But Solomon's prayer was answered.

For 360 years, the temple remained a place where God

and His people would come together, where He would hearken

to the prayers of mankind and forgive.

(majestic orchestral music)

(mellow choral symphony music)