1 Kings 10
King James Version
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 hard questions.
2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare 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.
3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.
4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,
5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
8 Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
9 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.
10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
11 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.
12 And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.
13 And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,
15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.
16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best 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 kingdom.
21 And 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; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
22 For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and 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 Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.
1 Kings 10
Amplified Bible
The Queen of Sheba
10 Now when the queen of [a]Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with riddles. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan (entourage), with camels carrying spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her mind [to discover the extent of his wisdom]. 3 Solomon [b]answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house (palace) which he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants (court officials), the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, his [c]stairway by which he went up to the house (temple) of the Lord, she was breathless and awed [by the wonder of it all]. 6 Then she told the king, “The report which I heard in my own land about your words and wisdom is true! 7 I did not believe the report until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of it was not told to me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 How blessed (fortunate, happy) are your men! How blessed are these your servants who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, He made you king to execute justice and righteousness.” 10 She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again did such an abundance of spices come in [to Israel] as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
11 Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood (sandalwood) and precious stones. 12 From the almug wood (sandalwood) the king made pillars for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Such almug wood did not come in [to Israel] again, nor has it been seen to this day.
13 King Solomon [in turn] gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her [d]from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.
Wealth, Splendor and Wisdom
14 Now the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one [particular] year was six hundred and sixty-six [e]talents of gold, 15 besides the taxes from the traders and from the wares of the merchants, and [the tribute money] from all the kings of the Arabs (Bedouins) and the governors of the country. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten (hammered) gold; [f]six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He made three hundred smaller shields of beaten gold; [g]three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon [the king’s armory]. 18 Also the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and a round [h]top was attached to the throne from the back. On either side of the seat were armrests, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on either end of each of the six steps; there was nothing like it made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had at sea the [large cargo] ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 24 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his mind. 25 Every man brought a gift [of tribute]: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 Now Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the [i]sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from [j]Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue, for a price.(A) 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and in the same way they exported them, by the king’s merchants, to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram (Syria).
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:1 The location of this ancient kingdom is uncertain, but may have included portions of modern Yemen and Ethiopia. The imperial family of Ethiopia claimed descent from a son supposedly born to Solomon and the queen of Sheba; however, there is no biblical evidence to support this claim. Ongoing archeological discoveries in Mareb, Yemen (Awam Temple) may support the area’s connection to the reign of the queen of Sheba. It has been suggested that she ruled southern Arabia and that the area being excavated was the capital of the Kingdom of Sheba.
- 1 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words.
- 1 Kings 10:5 Lit going up; or his burnt offering which he offered at.
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit according to the hand of King Solomon. Following ancient custom for nobility and royalty, the king was obligated to give a visitor (especially a visiting dignitary) a greater gift than he received from the visitor. Solomon went far beyond custom in lavishing gifts on the queen.
- 1 Kings 10:14 It is impossible to determine the exact weight of a talent, in part because the Israelites had more than one measurement of a talent. Estimates range from 58-80 lbs. or higher, and the weight may have had to do with the amount an able-bodied man could carry of a given precious metal. Six hundred and sixty-six talents would have weighed at least 38,628 lbs.
- 1 Kings 10:16 Perhaps about twelve pounds. These shields were designed to cover a man. The gold probably overlaid wood or some other lighter material.
- 1 Kings 10:17 About three pounds.
- 1 Kings 10:19 Or canopy.
- 1 Kings 10:27 This tree, ficus sycomorus, is native to Egypt and Asia Minor and produces an edible fruit similar but inferior to the common fig.
- 1 Kings 10:28 This was an area which, in NT times, was called Cilicia, the home province of the apostle Paul.
1 Reyes 10
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Salomón y la reina de Sabá
10 (A)Cuando la reina de Sabá(B) oyó de la fama de Salomón, por causa del nombre del Señor, vino a probarlo con preguntas difíciles(C). 2 Llegó a Jerusalén con un séquito muy grande, con camellos cargados de especias, y gran cantidad de oro y piedras preciosas(D). Cuando vino a Salomón, habló con él de todo lo que tenía en su corazón. 3 Y Salomón contestó todas sus preguntas[a]; no hubo nada tan difícil que el rey no pudiera explicárselo[b].
4 Cuando la reina de Sabá vio toda la sabiduría de Salomón, la casa que él había edificado, 5 los manjares de su mesa, las habitaciones de sus siervos, el porte de sus ministros y sus vestiduras, sus coperos, y la escalinata por la cual él subía a[c] la casa del Señor, se quedó sin aliento[d]. 6 Entonces le dijo al rey: «¡Era verdad lo que había oído en mi tierra acerca de sus palabras y de su sabiduría! 7 Pero yo no podía creer lo que me decían, hasta que he venido y mis propios ojos lo han visto. No se me había contado ni la mitad. Usted supera en sabiduría y prosperidad la fama que había oído. 8 Bienaventurados sus hombres, bienaventurados estos sus siervos que están delante de usted continuamente y oyen(E) su sabiduría. 9 Bendito sea el Señor su Dios(F) que se agradó de usted para ponerle sobre el trono de Israel(G). Por el amor que el Señor ha tenido siempre a Israel, le ha puesto por rey para hacer derecho y justicia(H)». 10 Entonces ella dio al rey 4.1 toneladas de oro, y gran cantidad de especias aromáticas y piedras preciosas(I). Nunca más entró tanta abundancia de especias aromáticas como las que la reina de Sabá dio al rey Salomón.
11 También las naves de Hiram, que habían traído oro de Ofir, trajeron de allí gran cantidad de madera de sándalo y piedras preciosas(J). 12 Con la madera de sándalo, el rey hizo pilares para la casa del Señor y para el palacio del rey; también liras y arpas para los cantores. Esa clase de madera de sándalo no ha entrado más ni se ha vuelto a ver hasta hoy(K).
13 El rey Salomón dio a la reina de Sabá todo cuanto ella quiso pedirle, además de lo que le dio conforme a su real magnificencia[e]. Después ella se volvió, y regresó a su tierra con sus siervos.
Riqueza y sabiduría de Salomón
14 (L)El peso del oro que llegaba a Salomón en un año era de 22.6 toneladas de oro, 15 sin contar lo de los mercaderes, las mercancías[f] de los comerciantes, de todos los reyes de Arabia[g](M) y de los gobernadores de la tierra. 16 El rey Salomón hizo 200 escudos grandes de oro batido, usando[h] 600 siclos (6.84 kilos) de oro en cada escudo(N). 17 También hizo 300 escudos de oro batido, usando tres minas (1.7 kilos) de oro en cada escudo(O); el rey los puso en la casa del bosque del Líbano(P).
18 El rey hizo además, un gran trono de marfil y lo revistió de oro finísimo(Q). 19 Había seis gradas hasta el trono, y por detrás, la parte superior del trono era redonda, con brazos[i] a cada lado del asiento y dos leones de pie junto a los brazos[j]. 20 Doce leones estaban de pie allí en las seis gradas a uno y otro lado; nada semejante se había hecho para ningún otro reino. 21 Todos los vasos de beber del rey Salomón eran de oro, también todas las vasijas de la casa del bosque del Líbano eran de oro puro, ninguna era de plata; esta no era considerada importante en los días de Salomón. 22 Porque el rey tenía en el mar las naves de Tarsis junto con las naves de Hiram, y cada tres años las naves de Tarsis le traían oro(R), plata, marfil, monos y pavos reales.
23 Así el rey Salomón llegó a ser más grande que todos los reyes de la tierra(S) en riqueza y sabiduría. 24 Y toda la tierra procuraba ver a Salomón, para oír la sabiduría que Dios había puesto en su corazón(T). 25 Cada uno de ellos traía su presente(U): objetos de plata y objetos de oro, vestidos, armas, especias, caballos y mulos; y así año tras año.
26 (V)Salomón reunió carros y hombres de a caballo; y tenía 1,400 carros y 12,000 hombres de a caballo, y los situó[k] en las ciudades de carros y junto al rey(W) en Jerusalén. 27 El rey hizo la plata tan común en Jerusalén como las piedras, e hizo los cedros tan abundantes(X) como los sicómoros que están en el llano. 28 Los caballos de Salomón eran importados de Egipto y de Coa, y los mercaderes del rey los adquirían de Coa por cierto precio(Y). 29 Un carro de Egipto se importaba[l] por 600 siclos (6.84 kilos) de plata, y un caballo por 150, y de la misma forma los exportaban a todos los reyes de los hititas y a los reyes de Aram(Z).
Footnotes
- 1 Reyes 10:3 Lit. le declaró todas sus palabras.
- 1 Reyes 10:3 Lit. no le declarara.
- 1 Reyes 10:5 O y su holocausto que ofrecía en.
- 1 Reyes 10:5 Lit. no hubo más espíritu en ella.
- 1 Reyes 10:13 Lit. conforme a la mano del rey Salomón.
- 1 Reyes 10:15 O el tráfico.
- 1 Reyes 10:15 Así en algunas versiones antiguas; en el T.M., del poniente.
- 1 Reyes 10:16 O haciendo resaltar; lit. haciendo subir, y así en el vers. 17.
- 1 Reyes 10:19 Lit. manos.
- 1 Reyes 10:19 Lit. manos.
- 1 Reyes 10:26 Así en algunas versiones antiguas; en heb. guió; véase 2Crón. 9:25.
- 1 Reyes 10:29 Lit. subía y salía.
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