1 Kings 10
Legacy Standard Bible
The Queen of Sheba
10 (A)Now the (B)queen of (C)Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came (D)to test him with riddles. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels (E)carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; there was not a matter which was hidden from the king which he did not declare to her. 4 Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and [a]his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 Nevertheless I did not believe those words, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not declared to me. You exceed, in wisdom and prosperity, the report which I heard. 8 How (F)blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 (G)Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; (H)because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, (I)to do justice and righteousness.” 10 (J)Then she gave the king [b]120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
11 (K)Also, the ships of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 (L)And the king made of the almug trees supports for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.
13 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to [c]his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom
14 (M)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the [d]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the (N)Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 (O)And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, [e]using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made (P)300 shields of beaten gold, [f]using [g]three minas of gold on each shield, and (Q)the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of (R)ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and [h]arms [i]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [j]arms. 20 Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. 21 Now 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 was of silver; it was not considered [k]valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For (S)the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
23 (T)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, (U)to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 (V)And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.
26 (W)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and [l]stationed them in the (X)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 (Y)The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [m]Shephelah. 28 (Z)Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 And a chariot [n]was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and [o]by the same means they exported them (AA)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:5 Or his burnt offering which he offered
- 1 Kings 10:10 Approx. 4.5 tons or 4.08 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit the hand of King Solomon
- 1 Kings 10:15 Or traffic
- 1 Kings 10:16 Lit he brought up
- 1 Kings 10:17 Lit he brought up
- 1 Kings 10:17 Approx. 3.8 lb. or 1.7 kg, a mina was approx. 1.25 lb. or 0.6 kg
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit on this side and on this at the place of the seat
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
- 1 Kings 10:21 Lit anything
- 1 Kings 10:26 As in ancient versions; Heb led
- 1 Kings 10:27 Or lowland
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit came up and went out from
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit in like manner by their hand
1 Kings 10
Common English Bible
Queen of Sheba
10 When the queen of Sheba heard reports about Solomon, due to the Lord’s name,[a] she came to test him with riddles. 2 Accompanying her to Jerusalem was a huge entourage with camels carrying spices, a large amount of gold, and precious stones. After she arrived, she told Solomon everything that was on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him to answer. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was, the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the servants’ quarters, the function and dress of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the entirely burned offerings that he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.
6 “The report I heard about your deeds and wisdom when I was still at home is true,” she said to the king. 7 “I didn’t believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, the half of it wasn’t even told to me! You have far more wisdom and wealth than I was told. 8 Your people and these servants who continually serve you and get to listen to your wisdom are truly happy! 9 Bless the Lord your God because he was pleased to place you on Israel’s throne. Because the Lord loved Israel with an eternal love, the Lord made you king to uphold justice and righteousness.”
10 The queen gave the king one hundred twenty kikkars of gold, a great quantity of spice, and precious stones. Never again has so much spice come to Israel as when the queen of Sheba gave this gift to King Solomon. 11 Hiram’s fleet went to Ophir and brought back gold, much almug wood, and precious stones. 12 The king used the almug wood to make parapets for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace as well as lyres and harps for the musicians. To this day, that much almug wood hasn’t come into or been seen in Israel. 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and all that she had asked for, in addition to what he had already given her from his own personal funds. Then she and her servants returned to her homeland.
Solomon’s wealth
14 Solomon received an annual income of six hundred sixty-six kikkars of gold, 15 not including income from the traders, the merchants and their profits, all the Arabian kings, and the officials of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred body-sized shields of hammered gold, using fifteen pounds[b] of gold in each shield, 17 and three hundred small shields of hammered gold, using sixty ounces[c] of gold in each shield. The king placed these in the Forest of Lebanon Palace.
18 The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with pure gold. 19 Six steps led up to the throne, and the back of the throne was rounded at the top. Two lions stood beside the armrests on both sides of the throne. 20 Another twelve lions stood on both sides of the six steps. No other kingdom had anything like this. 21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were made of gold, and all the items in the Forest of Lebanon Palace were made of pure gold, not silver, since even silver wasn’t considered good enough in Solomon’s time! 22 The royal fleet of Tarshish-style ships was at sea with Hiram’s fleet, returning once every three years with gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.[d]
23 King Solomon far exceeded all the earth’s kings in wealth and wisdom, 24 and so the whole earth wanted an audience with Solomon in order to hear his God-given wisdom. 25 Year after year they came with tribute: objects of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
26 Solomon acquired more and more chariots and horses until he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses that he kept in chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 In Jerusalem, the king made silver as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore trees that grow in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue, purchased from Kue by the king’s agents at the going price. 29 They would import a chariot from Egypt for six hundred pieces of silver and a horse for one hundred fifty, and then export them to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:1 Heb uncertain
- 1 Kings 10:16 Or six hundred (shekels)
- 1 Kings 10:17 three manehs
- 1 Kings 10:22 Heb uncertain
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