1 Kings 10

1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to test him with hard questions.

Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions.

2 She came to Jerusalem with a very long caravan, with camels loaded with spices, much gold, and many precious gemstones. When she arrived, she told Solomon all that was in her heart.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels weighted down with spices, and stores of gold and jewels: and when she came to Solomon she had talk with him of everything in her mind.

3 Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing she asked that the king did not answer.

And Solomon gave her answers to all her questions; there was no secret which the king did not make clear to her.

4 When the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon's wisdom, the palace that he had built,

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had made,

5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the work of his servants and their clothing, also his cupbearers, and the manner in which he offered burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh, there was no more breath in her.

And the food at his table, and all his servants seated there, and those who were waiting on him in their places, and their robes, and his wine-servants, and the burned offerings which he made in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

6 She said to the king, “It is true, the report that I heard in my own land of your words and your wisdom.

And she said to the king, The account which was given to me in my country of your acts and your wisdom was true.

7 I did not believe what I heard until I came here, and now my eyes have seen it. Not half was told me about your wisdom and wealth! You have exceeded the fame that I heard about.

But I had no faith in what was said about you, till I came and saw for myself; and now I see that it was not half the story; your wisdom and your wealth are much greater than they said.

8 How blessed are your wives, and how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you, because they hear your wisdom.

Happy are your wives, happy are these your servants whose place is ever before you, hearing your words of wisdom.

9 May Yahweh your God be praised, who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, he has made you king, for you to do justice and righteousness!”

May the Lord your God be praised, whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; because the Lord's love for Israel is eternal, he has made you king, to be their judge in righteousness.

10 She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a large amount of spices and precious stones. No greater amount of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon was ever given to him again.

And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a great store of spices and jewels: never again was such a wealth of spices seen as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 The fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a large amount of almug wood and precious stones.

And the sea-force of Hiram, in addition to gold from Ophir, came back with much sandal-wood and jewels.

12 The king made almug wood pillars for the temple of Yahweh and for the king's palace, and harps and lyres for the singers. No such quantity of almug wood has ever come or been seen again to this day.

And from the sandal-wood the king made pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, and instruments of music for the makers of melody: never has such sandal-wood been seen to this day.

13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything she wished for, whatever she asked, in addition to what Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she returned to her own land with her servants.

And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she made request for, in addition to what he gave her freely from the impulse of his heart. So she went back to her country, she and her servants.

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,

Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents;

15 besides the gold that the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors in the country also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

In addition to what came to him from the business of the traders, and from all the kings of the Arabians, and from the rulers of the country.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one.

And Solomon made two hundred body-covers of hammered gold, every one having six hundred shekels of gold in it.

17 He also made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield; the king put them into the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

And he made three hundred smaller body-covers of hammered gold, with three pounds of gold in every cover: and the king put them in the house of the Woods of Lebanon.

18 Then the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold.

Then the king made a great ivory seat, plated with the best gold.

19 There were six steps to the throne, and the back of it had a rounded top. There were armrests on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.

There were six steps going up to it, and the top of it was round at the back, there were arms on the two sides of the seat, and two lions by the side of the arms;

20 Twelve lions stood on the steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom.

And twelve lions were placed on the one side and on the other side on the six steps: there was nothing like it in any kingdom.

21 All King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the drinking cups in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were silver, because silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days.

And all King Solomon's drinking-vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the Woods of Lebanon were of the best gold; not one was of silver, for no one gave a thought to silver in the days of King Solomon.

22 The king had at sea a fleet of oceangoing ships, along with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet brought gold, silver, and ivory, as well as apes and baboons.

For the king had Tarshish-ships at sea with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the Tarshish-ships came with gold and silver and ivory and monkeys and peacocks.

23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.

And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.

24 All the earth sought the presence of Solomon in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

And from all over the earth they came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25 Those who visited brought tribute, vessels of silver and of gold, and clothes, armor, and spices, as well as horses and mules, year after year.

And everyone took with him an offering, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and robes, and coats of metal, and spices, and horses, and beasts of transport, regularly year by year.

26 Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen that he stationed in the chariot cities and with himself in Jerusalem.

And Solomon got together war-carriages and horsemen; he had one thousand, four hundred carriages and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king at Jerusalem.

27 The king had silver in Jerusalem, as much as the stones on the ground. He made cedar wood to be as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that are in the lowlands.

And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedars like the sycamore-trees of the lowlands in number.

28 The horses that belonged to Solomon were imported from Egypt, and Kue and the king's merchants purchased them from Kue.

And Solomon's horses came from Egypt and from Kue; the king's traders got them at a price from Kue.

29 Chariots were purchased out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver each, and horses for 150 shekels each. Many of these were then sold to all the kings of the Hittites and Aram.

A war-carriage might be got from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; they got them at the same rate for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.