2 Chronicles 9
New King James Version
The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon(A)
9 Now (B)when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his (C)cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
5 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. 7 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God! Because your God has (D)loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”
9 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, (E)who brought gold from Ophir, brought [a]algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made walkways of the [b]algum wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.
12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Great Wealth(F)
13 (G)The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; [c]three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the (H)House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were [d]armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to (I)Tarshish with the servants of [e]Hiram. Once every three years the [f]merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [g]monkeys.
22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, (J)armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
25 Solomon (K)had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 (L)So he reigned over all the kings (M)from [h]the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 (N)The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees (O)as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28 (P)And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
Death of Solomon(Q)
29 (R)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of (S)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of (T)Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 (U)Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then Solomon [i]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:10 almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12
- 2 Chronicles 9:11 almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 three minas, 1 Kin. 10:17
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit. hands
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 10:22
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea vessels
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or peacocks
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 The Euphrates
- 2 Chronicles 9:31 Died and joined his ancestors
Divrey Hayamim Bais 9
Orthodox Jewish Bible
9 And when the Malkat Sheva (Queen of Sheba) heard of the fame of Sh’lomo, she came to test Sh’lomo with chidot (hard questions, riddles) at Yerushalayim, with a very great caravan, and camels that carried spices, and zahav in abundance, and precious stones; and when she was come to Sh’lomo, she communed with him of all that was in her levav.
2 And Sh’lomo gave answer to all her questions; and there was nothing hid from Sh’lomo which he explained not to her.
3 And when the Malkat Sheva had seen the Chochmat Sh’lomo, and HaBais (the Palace) that he had built,
4 And the ma’akhal (food) of his shulchan, and the moshav of his avadim, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his aliyah (ascent) by which he went up to the Beis Hashem; there was no more ruach in her.
5 And she said to HaMelech, Emes was the davar (report) which I heard in mine own country about thine acts, and of thy chochmah;
6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, hinei, the one half of the greatness of thy chochmah was not told me, for thou exceedest the report that I heard.
7 Ashrei are thy anashim, and ashrei are these thy avadim, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy chochmah.
8 Baruch Hashem Eloheicha Who delighted in thee to set thee on His kisse, to be Melech for Hashem Eloheicha, because Eloheicha loved Yisroel, to establish them l’olam, therefore He made thee Melech over them, to maintain Mishpat and Tzedakah.
9 And she gave HaMelech a hundred and twenty talents of zahav, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones; neither was there ever any such spice as the Malkat Sheva gave Sh’lomo HaMelech.
10 And the avadim also of Churam, and the avadim of Sh’lomo, which brought zahav from Ophir, brought atzei algummim (algum trees) and precious stones.
11 And HaMelech made of the atzei algummim steps for the Beis Hashem, and for the Beis HaMelech, and kinnorot and nevalim for the musicians; and there were none such seen before in the Eretz Yehudah.
12 And Sh’lomo HaMelech gave to Malkat Sheva all her chefetz, whatsoever she asked, beside such that she had brought unto HaMelech. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her avadim.
13 Now the weight of zahav that came to Sh’lomo in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of zahav;
14 Besides that which traders and merchants brought. And all the melachim of Arabia and governors of the country brought zahav and kesef to Sh’lomo.
15 And Melech Sh’lomo made 200 shields of hammered zahav; 600 measures of hammered zahav went to one shield.
16 And 300 moginnim he made of hammered zahav; 300 measures of zahav went to one mogen. And HaMelech put them in Beis Ya’ar HaLevanon (House of the Forest of Levanon).
17 Moreover HaMelech made a kisse shen gadol (great ivory throne) and overlaid it with zahav tahor.
18 And there were six steps to the kisse, with a kevesh (ramp) of zahav, which was attached to the kisse, and arms on each side of the seat, and two aroyot (lions) standing by the armrests;
19 And 12 aroyot stood there on the one side and on the other upon 6 steps. There was nothing like it made for any other mamlechah.
20 And all the kelei mashkeh (drinking vessels) of Sh’lomo HaMelech were of zahav, and all the kelei Beis Ya’ar HaLevanon were of pure zahav; none were of kesef; it [silver] was not accounted as anything in the days of Sh’lomo.
21 HaMelech had a fleet of oniyyot that went to Tarshish with the avadim of Churam. Once every three years came the oniyyot Tarshish bringing zahav, and kesef, ivory, and monkeys, and peacocks.
22 And Sh’lomo HaMelech surpassed all the Malkhei HaAretz in riches and chochmah.
23 And all the Malkhei Ha’Aretz sought the presence of Sh’lomo, to hear his chochmah, that HaElohim had put in his lev.
24 And they brought every ish his minchah (present), kelei kesef, kelei zahav, and clothing, weapons, and spices, susim, and peradim (mules), at a set rate.
25 And Sh’lomo had four thousand stalls for susim and markovot (chariots), and twelve thousand parashim whom he kept in the chariot cities, and with HaMelech at Yerushalayim.
26 And he reigned over all the melachim from the River [i.e., the Euphrates] even unto the Eretz Pelishtim, and to the border of Mitzrayim.
27 And HaMelech made kesef in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and cedar trees he made like sycamore trees that are in the Shefelah in abundance.
28 And they imported unto Sh’lomo susim out of Mitzrayim, and from all the lands.
29 Now the rest of the Divrei Sh’lomo, harishonim and ha’acharonim, are they not written in the Divrei Natan HaNavi, and in the Nevu’at Achiyah the Shiloni, and in the chazot Yadai HaChozer against Yarov’am ben Nevat?
30 And Sh’lomo reigned in Yerushalayim over kol Yisroel arba’im shaneh.
31 And Sh’lomo slept with Avotav, and he was buried in Ir Dovid Aviv. And Rechav’am Bno reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 9
English Standard Version
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.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:6 Hebrew their
- 2 Chronicles 9:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- 2 Chronicles 9:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or baboons
- 2 Chronicles 9:24 Or armor
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 Hebrew the River
2 Chronicles 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Queen of Sheba
9 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame,(A) so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind. 2 So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba observed Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built, 4 the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.
5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. 6 But I didn’t believe their reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half of your great wisdom! You far exceed the report I heard. 7 How happy are your men.[a](B) How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom. 8 May the Lord your God be praised! He delighted in you and put you on His throne as king for the Lord your God.(C) Because Your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, He has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”(D)
9 Then she gave the king four and a half tons[b] of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There never were such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 In addition, Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir(E) also brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 The king made the algum wood into walkways for the Lord’s temple and for the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire, whatever she asked—far more than she had brought the king. Then she, along with her servants, returned to her own country.
Solomon’s Wealth
13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon(F) annually was 25 tons,[c] 14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds[d] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He made 300 small shields of hammered gold; about eight pounds[e] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(G)
17 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps; there was a footstool covered in gold for the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
20 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 21 for the king’s ships kept going to Tarshish(H) with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[f]
22 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.(I) 23 All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Each of them would bring his own gift—items[g] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,[h][i] spices, and horses and mules—as an annual tribute.
25 Solomon(J) had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.(K) He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.(L) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. 28 They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.
Solomon’s Death
29 The remaining events(M) of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Visions of Iddo the Seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.(N) 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years. 31 Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David.(O) His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:7 LXX, Old Lat read wives; 1Kg 10:8
- 2 Chronicles 9:9 Lit 120 talents
- 2 Chronicles 9:13 Lit 666 talents
- 2 Chronicles 9:15 Lit 600 (shekels)
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 Lit 300 (shekels)
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or baboons
- 2 Chronicles 9:24 Or vessels, or weapons
- 2 Chronicles 9:24 LXX reads resin
- 2 Chronicles 9:24 Or fragrant balsam
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

