1 Kings 10
Lexham English Bible
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba
10 Now the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon regarding the name of Yahweh, and she came to test him with hard questions. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with very great wealth; with camels carrying spices, very much gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon, and she spoke to him all that was on her heart. 3 Solomon answered all of her questions;[a] there was not a thing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba observed all the wisdom of Solomon and the house which he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seat of his servants, the manner[b] of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered in the house of Yahweh, she was breathless.[c] 6 Then she said to the king, “The report which I heard in my land was true concerning your accomplishments and your wisdom. 7 I had not believed the report to be true until I came and my eyes had seen, and behold! The half had not been told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass[d] the report that I had heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants who stand before you continually hearing your wisdom. 9 May Yahweh your God be blessed, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel, because of the love of Yahweh for Israel forever, and he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, abundant spices, and precious stones. Spices as these did not come again in such abundance as that which the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon.
11 Moreover, the fleet of ships of Hiram which carried the gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir abundant amounts of almug wood and precious stones. 12 The king made a raised structure for the house of Yahweh and for the house of the king out of the almug wood, as well as lyres and harps for the singers. This much almug wood has not come nor been seen again up to this day. 13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all of her desire that she asked, besides that which King Solomon freely offered her.[e] Then she turned and went to her land with her servants.
14 The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 apart from that of the men of the traders and the profits of the traders, and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred shields of hammered gold; six hundred measures of gold went up over each shield. 17 Also he made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went up over each of the small shields; and the king put them into the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a large ivory throne, and he overlaid it with fine gold. 19 Six steps led up to the throne, and there was a circular top to the throne behind it, and armrests were on each side of the seat,[f] with two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there, six on each of the six steps on either side;[g] nothing like this was made for any of the kingdoms. 21 All of the drinking vessels of King Solomon were gold, and all the vessels for the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver; it was not considered as something valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For the fleet of Tarshish belonged to the king and was on the sea with the fleet of Hiram; once every three years the fleet of Tarshish used to come carrying gold and silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.
23 King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom. 24 All of the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 They were each bringing his gift; objects of silver and objects of gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This used to happen year after year.[h]
26 Solomon gathered chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed them in the cities of the chariots and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king made the silver in Jerusalem as the stones, and the cedars he made as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah in abundance. 28 The import of the horses which were Solomon’s was from Egypt and from Kue; the traders of the king received horses from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot went up and went out from Egypt at six hundred silver shekels and a horse at a hundred and fifty. So it was for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram; by their hand they were exported.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:3 Literally “Solomon told her all of her words”
- 1 Kings 10:5 Literally “service”
- 1 Kings 10:5 Literally “and there was not in her spirit/breath any longer”
- 1 Kings 10:7 Literally “You have added wisdom and prosperity to”
- 1 Kings 10:13 Literally “according to the hand of King Solomon”
- 1 Kings 10:19 Literally “from this and from this”
- 1 Kings 10:20 Literally “from this and from this”
- 1 Kings 10:25 Literally “A thing of year to year”
1 Kings 10
Christian Standard Bible
The Queen of Sheba
10 The queen of Sheba(A) heard about Solomon’s fame(B) connected with the name of the Lord and came to test him with difficult questions.(C) 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing(D) spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.(E) She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built,(F) 5 the food at his table,(G) his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.
6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard.(H) 8 How happy are your men.[a] How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom.(I) 9 Blessed be the Lord your God! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel,(J) because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel.(K) He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”(L)
10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons[b] of gold,(M) a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 In addition, Hiram’s fleet that carried gold from Ophir brought from Ophir a large quantity of almug[c] wood and precious stones.(N) 12 The king made the almug wood into steps for the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before did such almug wood arrive, and the like has not been seen again.
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she, along with her servants, returned to her own country.(O)
Solomon’s Wealth
14 The weight(P) of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons,[d] 15 besides what came from merchants,(Q) traders’ merchandise, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.(R)
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds[e] of gold went into each shield. 17 He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; nearly four pounds[f] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(S)
18 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps; there was a rounded top at the back of the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon(T) were pure gold.(U) There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 22 for the king had ships of Tarshish(V) at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[g](W)
23 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.(X) 24 The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.(Y) 25 Every man would bring his annual tribute: items[h] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,[i] spices, and horses and mules.(Z)
26 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen(AA) and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.(AB) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones,(AC) and he made cedar(AD) as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue.[j] The king’s traders bought them from Kue at the going price.(AE) 29 A chariot was imported from Egypt for fifteen pounds[k] of silver, and a horse for four pounds.[l] In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.(AF)
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