歷代志下 9
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
示巴女王拜訪所羅門
9 示巴女王聽聞所羅門的名聲,便來用難題考問他。她率領許多隨從,用駱駝馱著香料、寶石和大量的黃金到耶路撒冷晉見所羅門王,與所羅門談論她心中的疑問。 2 所羅門王解答了她所有的問題,沒有一樣難得住他。 3 示巴女王看見所羅門的智慧,又看見他建的宮殿、 4 席上的美味、入座的群臣、侍立一旁的僕人、他們的服裝、酒政、以及他在耶和華殿裡獻的燔祭,感到萬分驚奇。 5 她對所羅門王說:「我在本國聽到的有關你的功業和智慧原來都是真的。 6 若不是親眼目睹,我不會相信。事實上,我聽到的還不到一半!你的智慧遠超過我聽到的傳聞。 7 你的臣僕經常侍立在你面前聆聽智慧之言,真有福氣! 8 你的上帝耶和華當受稱頌!祂喜愛你,立你做王統治祂的子民。因為你的上帝愛以色列人,要使他們永遠堅立,所以立你為他們的王,使你秉公行義。」
9 示巴女王將四噸黃金、大量香料和寶石獻給所羅門王。再無人像示巴女王那樣獻給所羅門王那麼多香料。 10 希蘭的僕人和所羅門的僕人從俄斐運來黃金、檀香木和寶石。 11 所羅門王用這些檀香木建造耶和華的殿和王宮的階梯,又製作歌樂手的琴瑟。在猶大從來沒有見過這樣的物品。 12 所羅門王滿足了示巴女王的一切要求,回贈她的禮物超過了她帶來的。之後,女王和隨從就回示巴去了。
所羅門王的財富
13 所羅門每年收到的黃金約二十三噸, 14 此外還有商人、阿拉伯諸王和國內各總督送給他的金銀。 15 所羅門王用錘好的金子打造了二百面大盾牌,每面用七公斤金子; 16 又用錘好的金子打造了三百面小盾牌,每面用三點五公斤金子,全部放在黎巴嫩林宮。 17 王又造了一個象牙大寶座,外面用純金包裹。 18 這寶座有六級臺階,又有金腳凳與寶座相連,寶座兩旁有扶手,扶手兩邊各站著一頭獅子, 19 六級臺階上共站著十二頭獅子,每級臺階兩端各站一頭。這寶座舉世無雙。 20 所羅門王所有的杯子都是金的,黎巴嫩林宮裡所有的器皿都是純金的,沒有一件是用銀子造的,因為所羅門年間銀子不算什麼。 21 王有船隊與希蘭的僕人一起出海去他施,每三年就運回金銀、象牙、猿猴和孔雀。 22 所羅門王的財富和智慧超過天下諸王。 23 天下的君王都紛紛來朝見所羅門,聆聽上帝賜給他的智言慧語。 24 他們年年都帶來禮物,有金銀器皿、衣服、兵器、香料和騾馬。 25 所羅門有四千個安置戰車和馬匹的棚,有一萬二千名騎兵,駐紮在屯車城和他所在的耶路撒冷。 26 所羅門統管從幼發拉底河到非利士地區,遠至埃及邊境的諸王。 27 王使耶路撒冷的金銀多如石頭,使香柏木多如丘陵的無花果樹。 28 所羅門的馬匹都是從埃及和其他國家運來的。
所羅門逝世
29 所羅門一生的事蹟,自始至終都記在拿單先知的史記、示羅人亞希雅的《預言書》和易多先見論尼八的兒子耶羅波安的《啟示書》中。 30 所羅門在耶路撒冷統治以色列四十年, 31 他與祖先同眠後,葬在他父親大衛的城裡。他兒子羅波安繼位。
2 Chronicles 9
New English Translation
Solomon Entertains a Queen
9 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,[a] she came to challenge[b] him[c] with difficult questions.[d] She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp,[e] bringing with her camels carrying spices,[f] a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.[g] 3 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s wisdom, the palace[h] he had built, 4 the food in his banquet hall,[i] his servants and attendants[j] in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple,[k] she was amazed.[l] 5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight[m] was true! 6 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story![n] Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. 7 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy![o] 8 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored[p] you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf.[q] Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them,[r] he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.”[s] 9 She gave the king 120 talents[t] of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.[u] 10 (Huram’s[v] servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as[w] fine[x] timber and precious gems. 11 With the timber the king made steps[y] for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments[z] for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah before that.[aa]) 12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him.[ab] Then she left and returned[ac] to her homeland with her attendants.
Solomon’s Wealth
13 Solomon received 666 talents[ad] of gold per year,[ae] 14 besides what he collected from the merchants[af] and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[ag] of hammered gold were used for each shield. 16 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures[ah] of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[ai]
17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne.[aj] The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[ak] 19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.[al]
20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.[am] 21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships[an] manned by Huram’s men[ao] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[ap] came into port with cargoes of[aq] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[ar]
22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[as] 23 All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[at] 24 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[au]
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses[av] and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and also with him in Jerusalem.[aw] 26 He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[ax] to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as plentiful[ay] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[az] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[ba] 28 Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.
Solomon’s Reign Ends
29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded[bb] in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 31 Then Solomon passed away[bc] and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “test.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “riddles.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “balsam oil.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:2 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:3 tn Heb “house.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:4 tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the Lord.” But עֲלִיָּתוֹ (ʿaliyyato, “his upper room”) should be emended to עֹלָתוֹ, (ʿolato, “his burnt sacrifice[s]”). See the parallel account in 1 Kgs 10:5.
- 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:5 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:6 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:7 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
- 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Or “delighted in.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “as king for the Lord your God.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:9 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
- 2 Chronicles 9:9 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
- 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “algum.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
- 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:12 tn Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:12 tn Heb “turned and went.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
- 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:14 tn Heb “traveling men.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:15 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:19 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:20 tn Heb “there was no silver regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “servants.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:22 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:23 tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:24 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:25 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:25 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn Heb “he made cedar.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
- 2 Chronicles 9:29 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, the former and the latter, are they not written?”
- 2 Chronicles 9:31 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
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