Old/New Testament
The Queen of Sheba
10 (A)Now when the (B)queen of (C)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the Lord, she came (D)to test him with riddles. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels (E)carrying balsam oil and a very large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him about everything that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon [a]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 5 and the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, [b]she was breathless. 6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true [c]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 But I did not believe the [d]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 (F)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! 9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; (H)because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, (I)to do justice and righteousness.” 10 Then (J)she gave the king [e]120 talents of gold, and a very large amount of balsam oil and precious stones. Never again did such a large quantity of balsam oil come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
11 (K)And the ships of Hiram as well, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 (L)The king made from the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day.
13 And King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she requested, besides what he gave her in proportion to [f]his royal bounty. Then she [g]departed and went to her own land [h]together with her servants.
Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom
14 (M)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was [i]666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders, and the [j]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the (N)Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 (O)King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, [k]using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made (P)three hundred small shields of beaten gold, [l]using [m]three minas of gold on each shield; and (Q)the king put them in the house of the timber of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a large throne of (R)ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its back, and [n]armrests [o]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [p]armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for [q]any other kingdom. 21 Now all King Solomon’s drinking utensils were of gold, and all the utensils of the house of the timber of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered as amounting to anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For (S)the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
23 (T)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the [r]attention of Solomon, (U)to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 And (V)they were bringing, everyone, [s]a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 (W)Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he [t]stationed them in the (X)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 (Y)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [u]lowland. 28 (Z)Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price. 29 A chariot [v]was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and [w]by the same means they exported them (AA)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.
Solomon Turns from God
11 Now (AB)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “(AC)You shall not [x]associate with them, nor shall they [y]associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away [z]to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 (AD)He had seven hundred wives, who were [aa]princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away [ab]to follow other gods; and (AE)his heart was not [ac]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. 5 For Solomon became a follower of (AF)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of [ad](AG)Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for (AH)Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is [ae]east of Jerusalem, and for (AI)Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now (AJ)the Lord was angry with Solomon (AK)because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, (AL)who had appeared to him twice, 10 and (AM)had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since [af]you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, (AN)I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. 13 Yet (AO)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but (AP)I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and (AQ)for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
God Raises Adversaries
14 Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the [ag]royal line in Edom. 15 For it came about, (AR)when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed in battle, and had (AS)struck and killed every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel stayed there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled [ah]to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. 18 They set out from Midian and came to (AT)Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. 19 Now Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But (AU)when Hadad heard in Egypt that David [ai]lay down with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, so that I may go to my own country.” 22 However, Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you are here, requesting to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go.”
23 (AV)God also raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master (AW)Hadadezer, king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, (AX)after David killed those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed [aj]there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad inflicted; and he felt disgust for Israel and reigned over Aram.
26 Then (AY)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, (AZ)also [ak]rebelled against the king. 27 Now this was the reason why he [al]rebelled against the king: (BA)Solomon built the [am]Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when (BB)Solomon saw that the young man was [an]industrious, he appointed him over all the [ao]forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that (BC)the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now [ap]Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. 30 Then (BD)Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, (BE)I am going to tear the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes 32 ((BF)but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, (BG)the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have abandoned Me, and (BH)have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, (BI)Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. 34 Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My statutes; 35 but (BJ)I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you; that is, ten tribes. 36 But (BK)to his son I will give one tribe, (BL)so that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, (BM)the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 37 However I will take you, and you shall reign over all that [aq]you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then (BN)I will be with you and (BO)build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 So I will oppress the [ar]descendants of David for this, but not always.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam set out and fled to Egypt to (BP)Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
The Death of Solomon
41 (BQ)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 So (BR)the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 Then Solomon [as](BS)lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son (BT)Rehoboam reigned in his place.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem (A)surrounded by armies, then [a]recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside [b]the city must leave, and (B)those who are in the country must not enter [c]the city; 22 because these are (C)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for (D)there will be great distress upon the [d]land, and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by (E)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and (F)Jerusalem will be (G)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until (H)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Return of Christ
25 “There will be [e]signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the [f]world; for the powers of [g]the heavens will be shaken. 27 And (I)then they will see (J)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because (K)your redemption is drawing near.”
29 And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees: 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and (L)know that summer is now near. 31 So you too, when you see these things happening, [h]recognize that (M)the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 (N)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34 “But (O)be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that [i]this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth. 36 But (P)stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to (Q)stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Now [j]during the day He was (R)teaching in the temple, but [k](S)at evening He would go out and spend the night on (T)the [l]mountain that is called [m]Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up (U)very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
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