Ii Paralipomenon 9
1 Regina quoque Saba, cum audisset famam Salomonis, venit ut tentaret eum in ænigmatibus in Ierusalem, cum magnis opibus et camelis, qui portabant aromata, et auri plurimum, gemmasque pretiosas. Cumque venisset ad Salomonem, locuta est ei quæcumque erant in corde suo.
The queen who ruled [the] Sheba [area in Arabia] heard that Solomon had become famous, so she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him questions that were difficult [to answer]. She came with a large group of servants, and she brought camels that were loaded with spices, and valuable gems, and a lot of gold. When she met Solomon, she asked him questions about all the things/topics in which she was interested.
2 Et exposuit ei Salomon omnia quæ proposuerat: nec quidquam fuit, quod non perspicuum ei fecerit.
Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
3 Quæ postquam vidit, sapientiam scilicet Salomonis, et domum quam ædificaverat,
The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace,
4 necnon et cibaria mensæ eius, et habitacula servorum, et officia ministrorum eius, et vestimenta eorum, pincernas quoque et vestes eorum, et victimas quas immolabat in domo Domini: non erat præ stupore ultra in ea spiritus.
she saw the food that was served on his table [every day]; she saw how his officials were seated at the table, their uniforms, the servants who served the food and wine, and the sacrifices that he took to the temple to be completely burned on the altar. She was extremely amazed.
5 Dixitque ad regem: Verus est sermo, quem audieram in terra mea de virtutibus et sapientia tua.
She said to the king, “Everything that I heard in my own country about you and about how wise you are is true!
6 Non credebam narrantibus donec ipsa venissem, et vidissent oculi mei, et probassem vix medietatem sapientiæ tuæ mihi fuisse narratam: vicisti famam virtutibus tuis.
But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it myself. You are [extremely wise and rich, ] more than what people told me.
7 Beati viri tui, et beati servi tui, qui assistunt coram te omni tempore, et audiunt sapientiam tuam.
The men who work for you are very fortunate! Your officials who are constantly standing in front of you and listening to the wise things that you say are also fortunate!
8 Sit Dominus Deus tuus benedictus, qui voluit te ordinare super thronum suum, regem Domini Dei tui. Quia diligit Deus Israel, et vult servare eum in æternum, idcirco posuit te super eum regem ut facias iudicia atque iustitiam.
Praise Yahweh your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by appointing you to be the king of Israel for him. God has always loved the Israeli people, and desires to assist them forever, and therefore he has appointed you to be their king, in order that you will rule them fairly and righteously.”
9 Dedit autem regi centum viginti talenta auri, et aromata multa nimis, et gemmas pretiosissimas: non fuerunt aromata talia ut hæc, quæ dedit regina Saba regi Salomoni.
Then the queen gave to Solomon about 4-1/2 tons of gold and a large amount of spices and gems. Never had King Solomon received more spices than the queen gave him at that time.
10 Sed et servi Hiram cum servis Salomonis attulerunt aurum de Ophir, et ligna thyina, et gemmas pretiosissimas:
King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave her more than she had given to him. Then she and those who came with her returned to her own land. [In the ships that belonged to King Hiram, ] Hiram’s workers and Solomon’s workers brought gold from Ophir. They also brought a large amount of juniper wood and gems. King Solomon [told his workers] to use that wood to make railings in the temple and in his palace and also to make harps and lyres for the musicians. That wood was the the finest wood that had ever been seen in Israel.
11 de quibus fecit rex, de lignis scilicet thyinis, gradus in domo Domini, et in domo regia, citharas quoque, et psalteria cantoribus: numquam visa sunt in Terra Iuda ligna talia.
12 Rex autem Salomon dedit reginæ Saba cuncta quæ voluit, et quæ postulavit, et multo plura quam attulerat ad eum: quæ reversa, abiit in terram suam cum servis suis.
13 Erat autem pondus auri, quod afferebatur Salomoni per singulos annos, sexcenta sexaginta sex talenta auri:
Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
14 excepta ea summa, quam legati diversarum gentium, et negotiatores afferre consueverant, omnesque reges Arabiæ, et satrapæ terrarum, qui comportabant aurum, et argentum Salomoni.
That was in addition to the [taxes] paid to him by the merchants and traders. Also, the kings of Arabia and the governors of [the districts in] Israel brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 Fecit igitur rex Salomon ducentas hastas aureas de summa sexcentorum aureorum, qui in singulis hastis expendebantur:
King Solomon’s [workers took this] gold [and] hammered [it] into thin sheets and covered 200 large shields with those thin sheets of gold; they put almost 7-1/2 pounds of gold on each shield.
16 trecenta quoque scuta aurea trecentorum aureorum, quibus tegebantur singula scuta: posuitque ea rex in armentario, quod erat consitum nemore.
His [workers] made 300 [smaller] shields. They covered each of them with almost 4 pounds of gold. Then the king put those shields in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Fecit quoque rex solium eburneum grande, et vestivit illud auro mundissimo.
His [workers] also made for him a large throne. [Part of] it was covered with [decorations made from] ivory and [part of it was covered] with very fine gold.
18 Sex quoque gradus, quibus ascendebatur ad solium, et scabellum aureum, et brachiola duo altrinsecus, et duos leones stantes iuxta brachiola,
There were six steps in front of the throne. There was a gold footstool that was attached to the throne. At each side of the throne there was an armrest, and alongside each armrest there was a [small statue of a] lion.
19 sed et alios duodecim leunculos stantes super sex gradus ex utraque parte: non fuit tale solium in universis regnis.
On the six steps there were twelve statues of lions, one on each side. No throne like that had ever existed in any other kingdom.
20 Omnia quoque vasa convivii regis erant aurea, et vasa domus saltus Libani ex auro purissimo. Argentum enim in diebus illis pro nihilo reputabatur.
All of Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the various dishes in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were made of gold. [They did not make things from silver], because during the years that Solomon [ruled], silver was not considered to be valuable.
21 Siquidem naves regis ibant in Tharsis cum servis Hiram, semel in annis tribus: et deferebant inde aurum et argentum, et ebur, et simias, et pavos.
The king had a fleet of ships that sailed with the ships that King Hiram owned. Every three years the ships returned [from the places to which they had sailed], bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and baboons (OR, peacocks).
22 Magnificatus est igitur Salomon super omnes reges terræ præ divitiis et gloria.
King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.
23 Omnesque reges terrarum desiderabant videre faciem Salomonis, ut audirent sapientiam, quam dederat Deus in corde eius:
Kings from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said, things that God had enabled him to know.
24 et deferebant ei munera, vasa argentea, et aurea, et vestes, et arma, et aromata, equos, et mulos, per singulos annos.
All the people who came to him brought presents: They brought things made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons, or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every year.
25 Habuit quoque Salomon quadraginta millia equorum in stabulis, et curruum, equitumque duodecim millia, constituitque eos in urbibus quadrigarum, et ubi erat rex in Ierusalem.
Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and 12,000 horses. Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots.
26 Exercuit etiam potestatem super cunctos reges a flumine Euphrate usque ad terram Philisthinorum, et usque ad terminos Ægypti.
Solomon ruled over all the kings in the area from the [Euphrates] River [in the northeast] to the Philistia area [in the west] to the border of Egypt [in the south].
27 Tantamque copiam præbuit argenti in Ierusalem quasi lapidum: et cedrorum tantam multitudinem velut sycomororum, quæ gignuntur in campestribus.
[During the years that Solomon was] king, [he] caused silver to become as common in Jerusalem as stones; and he caused cedar trees in the foothills of Judah to become as plentiful as fig trees.
28 Adducebantur autem ei equi de Ægypto, cunctisque regionibus.
Solomon’s agents brought horses from [the] Musri [area] and other places.
29 Reliqua autem operum Salomonis priorum et novissimorum scripta sunt in verbis Nathan Prophetæ, et in libris Ahiæ Silonitis, in visione quoque Addo Videntis, contra Ieroboam filium Nabat.
Lists of all the other things that Solomon did are recorded in the scrolls written by the prophet Nathan and by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh [city], and in [the scroll in which were written] the visions that the prophet Iddo saw concerning [King] Jeroboam.
30 Regnavit autem Salomon in Ierusalem super omnem Israel quadraginta annis.
Solomon ruled from Jerusalem all of Israel for 40 years.
31 Dormivitque cum patribus suis, et sepelierunt eum in Civitate David: regnavitque Roboam filius eius pro eo.
Then Solomon died and was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. And his son Rehoboam became the king.
