The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(A)Now when ^(B)the queen of ^(C)Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came ^(D)to test him with hard questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels ^(E)bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ³ And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. ⁴ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁶ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁷ but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. ^8 (F)Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ^9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! ^(H)Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, ^(I)that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ^10 (J)Then she gave the king 120 talents^[a] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ Moreover, ^(K)the fleet of Hiram, which brought ^(L)gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. ¹² And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

¹³ And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Great Wealth

^14 (M)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. ¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels^[b] of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷ And he made 300 ^(N)shields of beaten gold; three minas^[c] of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in ^(O)the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top,^[d] and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ²⁰ while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. ²¹ All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of ^(P)the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²² For the king had ^(Q)a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[e]

^23 (R)Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²⁴ And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁵ Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh,^[f] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

^26 (S)And Solomon gathered together ^(T)chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the ^(U)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁷ And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as ^(V)the sycamore of the Shephelah. ²⁸ And Solomon's ^(W)import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. ²⁹ A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of ^(X)the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Turns from the Lord

11 Now ^(Y)King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, ^(Z)“You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. ³ He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. ⁴ For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and ^(AA)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, ^(AB)as was the heart of David his father. ⁵ For Solomon went after ^(AC)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after ^(AD)Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for ^(AE)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for ^(AF)Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. ⁸ And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

The Lord Raises Adversaries

⁹ And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because ^(AG)his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AH)who had appeared to him twice ¹⁰ and ^(AI)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. ¹¹ Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, ^(AJ)I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. ¹² Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ However, ^(AK)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but ^(AL)I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem ^(AM)that I have chosen.”

¹⁴ And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom. ¹⁵ For ^(AN)when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom ¹⁶ (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom). ¹⁷ But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father's servants, Hadad still being a little child. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to ^(AO)Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land. ¹⁹ And 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 bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹ But when Hadad heard in Egypt ^(AP)that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.” ²² But Pharaoh said to him, “What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?” And he said to him, “Only let me depart.”

²³ God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master ^(AQ)Hadadezer king of Zobah. ²⁴ And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, ^(AR)after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus. ²⁵ He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.

^26 (AS)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(AT)an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also ^(AU)lifted up his hand against the king. ²⁷ And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. ^(AV)Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. ²⁸ The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet ^(AW)Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. ³⁰ Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, ^(AX)and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, ^(AY)I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes ³² (but ^(AZ)he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, ^(BA)the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), ³³ because they have^[g] forsaken me ^(BB)and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father 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 David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. ^35 (BC)But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. ³⁶ Yet to his son ^(BD)I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have ^(BE)a lamp before me in Jerusalem, ^(BF)the city where I have chosen to put my name. ³⁷ And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, ^(BG)I will be with you and ^(BH)will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’” ⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to ^(BI)Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

^41 (BJ)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴² And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³ And Solomon ^(BK)slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And ^(BL)Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Queen of Sheba

9 ^(A)Now when ^(B)the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ² And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. ³ And when ^(C)the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁴ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁵ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁶ but I did not believe the^[a] reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. ⁷ Happy are your men! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸ Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you ^(D)and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! ^(E)Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents^[b] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, ^(F)who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ And the king made from the algum wood ^(G)supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

¹² And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked ^(H)besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Wealth

^13 (I)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴ besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. ^(J)And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels^[c] of beaten gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; ^(K)300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷ The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ¹⁹ while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²¹ For the king's ships went to ^(L)Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[d]

²² Thus King Solomon ^(M)excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²³ And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁴ Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,^[e] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. ²⁵ And Solomon had ^(N)4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^26 (O)And he ruled over all the kings ^(P)from the Euphrates^[f] to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ^27 (Q)And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ^28 (R)And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon's Death

^29 (S)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from ^(T)first to last, are they not written in the history of ^(U)Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of ^(V)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^(W)Iddo ^(X)the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹ And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in ^(Y)the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

The Sermon on the Mount

5 Seeing the crowds, ^(A)he went up on the mountain, and when he ^(B)sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

² And ^(C)he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

^3 (D)“Blessed are ^(E)the poor in spirit, for ^(F)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(G)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the ^(H)meek, for they ^(I)shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and ^(J)thirst ^(K)for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(L)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(M)the pure in heart, for ^(N)they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are ^(O)the peacemakers, for ^(P)they shall be called ^(Q)sons^[a] of God.

^10 (R)“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for ^(S)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

^11 (T)“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^(U)on my account. ^12 (V)Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^(W)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, ^(X)but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

^14 (Y)“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ^15 (Z)Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ^(AA)that^[b] they may see your good works and ^(AB)give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

^17 (AC)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(AD)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(AE)to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, ^(AF)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ^19 (AG)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(AH)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(AI)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(AJ)in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^(AK)that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^(AL)will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

^21 (AM)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(AN)‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^(AO)to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(AP)everyone who is angry with his brother^[c] will be liable ^(AQ)to judgment; whoever insults^[d] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^(AR)the hell^[e] of fire. ^23 (AS)So if ^(AT)you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25 (AU)Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(AV)you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[f]

Lust

^27 (AW)“You have heard that it was said, ^(AX)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that ^(AY)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (AZ)If your right eye ^(BA)causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^(BB)hell. ^30 (BC)And if your right hand ^(BD)causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^(BE)hell.

Divorce

^31 (BF)“It was also said, ^(BG)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ^32 (BH)But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^(BI)whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³ “Again ^(BJ)you have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(BK)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(BL)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(BM)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^(BN)it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^(BO)the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^(BP)anything more than this comes from evil.^[g]

Retaliation

^38 (BQ)“You have heard that it was said, ^(BR)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, ^(BS)Do not resist the one who is evil. But ^(BT)if anyone ^(BU)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And ^(BV)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[h] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone ^(BW)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ^42 (BX)Give to the one who begs from you, and ^(BY)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

^43 (BZ)“You have heard that it was said, ^(CA)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(CB)Love your enemies and ^(CC)pray for those who persecute you, ^45 (CD)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^(CE)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (CF)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers,^[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even ^(CG)the Gentiles do the same? ^48 (CH)You therefore must be ^(CI)perfect, ^(CJ)as your heavenly Father is perfect.