2 Chronicles 9
1 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.
And when the Queene of Sheba heard of the fame of Salomon, she came to proue Salomon with hard questions at Ierusalem, with a very great traine, and camels that bare sweete odours and much golde, and precious stones: and when she came to Salomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
2 Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
And Salomon declared her all her questions, and there was nothing hid from Salomon, which he declared not vnto her.
3 The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace,
Then the Queene of Sheba sawe the wisedome of Salomon, and the house that he had buylt,
4 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.
And the meate of his table, and the sitting of his seruants, and the order of his wayters, and their apparel, and his butlers, and their apparel, and his burnt offrings which he offred in the house of the Lord, and she was greatly astonied.
5 She said to the king, “Everything that I heard in my own country about you and about how wise you are is true!
And she saide to the King, It was a true worde which I heard in mine owne lande of thy sayings, and of thy wisedome:
6 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.
Howbeit I beleeued not their report, vntil I came, and mine eyes had seene it: and beholde, the one halfe of thy great wisedom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
7 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!
Happie are thy men, and happie are these thy seruants, which stande before thee alway, and heare thy wisedome.
8 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.”
Blessed be the Lord thy God, which loued thee, to set thee on his throne as King, in the steade of the Lord thy God: because thy God loueth Israel, to establish it for euer, therefore hath he made thee King ouer them, to execute iudgement and iustice.
9 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.
Then she gaue the King sixe score talents of golde, and of sweete odours exceeding much and precious stones: neither was there such sweete odours since, as the Queene of Sheba gaue vnto King Salomon.
10 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.
And the seruants also of Huram, and the seruants of Salomon which brought golde from Ophir, brought Algummim wood and precious stones.
And the King made of the Algummim wood staires in the house of the Lord, and in the Kings house, and harpes and violes for singers: and there was no such seene before in the lande of Iudah.
And King Salomon gaue to the Queene of Sheba euery pleasant thing that she asked, besides for that which she had brought vnto the King: so she returned and went to her owne countrey, both she, and her seruants.
13 Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
Also the weight of golde that came to Salomon in one yeere, was sixe hundreth three score and sixe talents of golde,
14 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.
Besides that which chapmen and marchants brought: and all the Kings of Arabia, and the princes of the countrey brought golde and siluer to Salomon.
15 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.
And King Salomon made two hundreth targets of beaten golde, and sixe hundreth shekels of beaten golde went to one target,
16 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.
And three hundreth shieldes of beaten golde: three hundreth shekels of golde went to one shielde, and the King put them in the house of the wood of Lebanon.
17 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.
And the King made a great throne of yuorie and ouerlaid it with pure golde.
18 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.
And the throne had sixe steppes, with a footestoole of gold fastened to the throne, and stayes on either side on the place of the seate, and two lyons standing by the stayes.
19 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.
And twelue lyons stoode there on the sixe steps on either side: there was not the like made in any kingdome.
20 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.
And all King Salomons drinking vessels were of golde, and all the vessels of the house of the wood of Lebanon were of pure gold: for siluer was nothing esteemed in ye dayes of Salomon.
21 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).
For the Kings ships went to Tarshish with the seruants of Huram, euery three yeere once came the ships of Tarshish, and brought golde, and siluer, yuorie, and apes, and peacockes.
22 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.
So King Salomon excelled all the Kings of the earth in riches and wisedome.
23 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.
And all the Kings of the earth sought the presence of Salomon, to heare his wisedome that God had put in his heart.
24 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.
And they brought euery man his present, vessels of siluer, and vessels of golde, and raiment, armour, and sweet odours, horses, and mules, from yeere to yeere.
25 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.
And Salomon had foure thousand stalles of horses, and charets, and twelue thousand horsmen, whom he bestowed in the charet cities, and with the King at Ierusalem.
26 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].
And he reigned ouer all the Kings from the Riuer euen vnto the land of the Philistims, and to the border of Egypt.
27 [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.
And the King gaue siluer in Ierusalem, as stones, and gaue cedar trees as the wilde fig trees, that are aboundant in the plaine.
28 Solomon’s agents brought horses from [the] Musri [area] and other places.
And they brought vnto Salomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all landes.
29 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.
Concerning the rest of the actes of Salomon first and last, are they not written in the booke of Nathan the Prophet, and in the prophecie of Ahiiah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Ieedo the Seer against Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat?
30 Solomon ruled from Jerusalem all of Israel for 40 years.
And Salomon reigned in Ierusalem ouer all Israel fourtie yeeres.
31 Then Solomon died and was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. And his son Rehoboam became the king.
And Salomon slept with his fathers, and they buryed him in the citie of Dauid his father: and Rehoboam his sonne reigned in his steade.
