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10 ¶ And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with enigmas.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices and very much gold and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon told her all her questions; there was not any thing hid from the king, which he did not tell her.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom and the house that he had built,

likewise the food of his table and the sitting of his slaves and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, and his butlers and his burnt offering which he sacrificed in the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in my own land of thy words and of thy wisdom.

But I did not believe it until I came, and my eyes have seen that not even the half was told me. Thy wisdom and good exceeds the fame which I heard.

Blessed are thy men, blessed are these thy slaves, who stand continually before thee and that hear thy wisdom.

Blessed be the LORD thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the LORD has always loved Israel, therefore he made thee king, to do justice and righteousness.

10 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great store of spices and precious stones; never again did there come such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 And the navy of Hiram, that had brought the gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir a great plenty of brazil wood and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the brazil wood banisters for the house of the LORD and for the king’s houses, harps also and psalteries for the singers; there never had been such brazil wood, nor was it seen again unto this day.

13 And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her slaves.

14 ¶ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

15 besides what he had from the merchantmen and from the trade of the spice merchants and from all the kings of Arabia and from the princes of the land.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

17 Likewise he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

18 The king also made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the purest gold.

19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind, and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.

20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps; there was not the like made in any other kingdom.

21 And all King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and likewise all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; there was no silver, for in the days of Solomon it was not esteemed.

22 For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram; once every three years the navy of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

24 And all the earth sought to see the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25 And they each one brought his presents each year, vessels of gold and vessels of silver and garments and arms and spices, horses, and mules.

26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he put in the cities of the chariots and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.

28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn, for the king’s merchants bought the horses and yarn.

29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty, and so by their hand they supplied all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)

10 When the queen of Sheba(B) heard about the fame(C) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.(D) Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan(E)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table,(F) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe(G) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth(H) you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear(I) your wisdom! Praise(J) be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love(K) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice(L) and righteousness.”

10 And she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold,(M) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;(N) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[c] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[d] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(O)

14 The weight of the gold(P) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[e] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields(Q) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[f] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(R)

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.(S) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[h](T) at sea along with the ships(U) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches(V) and wisdom(W) than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom(X) God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(Y)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;(Z) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[i] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common(AA) in Jerusalem as stones,(AB) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig(AC) trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[j]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[k] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites(AD) and of the Arameans.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to
  2. 1 Kings 10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12
  4. 1 Kings 10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  6. 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
  7. 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
  8. 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish
  9. 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
  10. 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
  11. 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms