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1 Kings 10
New English Translation

Solomon Entertains a Queen

10 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,[a] she came to challenge[b] him with difficult questions.[c] 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp,[d] bringing with her camels carrying spices,[e] a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.[f] 4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom,[g] the palace[h] he had built, 5 the food in his banquet hall,[i] his servants and attendants,[j] their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed.[k] 6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight[l] was true! 7 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![m] Your wisdom and wealth[n] surpass what was reported to me. 8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy![o] 9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored[p] you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.”[q] 10 She gave the king 120 talents[r] of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.[s] 11 (Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. 12 With the timber the king made supports[t] for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments[u] for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.[v]) 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her.[w] Then she left and returned[x] to her homeland with her attendants.

Solomon’s Wealth

14 Solomon received 666 talents[y] of gold per year,[z] 15 besides what he collected from the merchants,[aa] traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[ab] of gold were used for each shield. 17 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; three minas[ac] of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[ad]

18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[ae] 20 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.[af]

21 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.[ag] 22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships[ah] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[ai] came into port with cargoes of[aj] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[ak]

23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[al] 24 Everyone[am] in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[an] 25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[ao]

26 Solomon accumulated[ap] chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.[aq] 27 The king made silver as plentiful[ar] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[as] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[at] 28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt[au] and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.[av]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:1 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”tc The Hebrew text also has, “to the name of the Lord,” which is very awkward due to its unusual syntax. The phrase is omitted in the parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:1. The word “report” is followed by the preposition ל (lamed) in Isa 23:5 and Hos 7:12 and indicates whom the message came to. And otherwise the collocation of לְשֵׁם (leshem, “to the name”) does not follow either a proper noun or the word report elsewhere in scripture. If retained, perhaps it should be translated, “for the reputation of the Lord.”
  2. 1 Kings 10:1 tn Or “test.”
  3. 1 Kings 10:1 tn Or “riddles.”
  4. 1 Kings 10:2 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.
  5. 1 Kings 10:2 tn Or “balsam oil.”
  6. 1 Kings 10:3 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.”
  7. 1 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”
  8. 1 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “house.”
  9. 1 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
  10. 1 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
  11. 1 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
  12. 1 Kings 10:6 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
  13. 1 Kings 10:7 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
  14. 1 Kings 10:7 tn Heb “good.”
  15. 1 Kings 10:8 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
  16. 1 Kings 10:9 tn Or “delighted in.”
  17. 1 Kings 10:9 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
  18. 1 Kings 10:10 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (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 to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
  19. 1 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “there has not come like those spices yet for quantity which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
  20. 1 Kings 10:12 tn This Hebrew architectural term occurs only here. The meaning is uncertain; some have suggested “banisters” or “parapets”; cf. TEV, NLT “railings.” The parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:11 has a different word, meaning “tracks,” or perhaps “steps.”
  21. 1 Kings 10:12 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither” [?]), and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
  22. 1 Kings 10:12 tn Heb “there has not come thus, the fine timber, and there has not been seen to this day.”
  23. 1 Kings 10:13 tn Heb “besides what he had given her according to the hand of King Solomon.”
  24. 1 Kings 10:13 tn Heb “turned and went.”
  25. 1 Kings 10:14 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (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 to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 50,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “twenty-five tons”; TEV “almost 23,000 kilogrammes.”
  26. 1 Kings 10:14 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
  27. 1 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “from the traveling men.”
  28. 1 Kings 10:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “six hundred,” with no unit of measure given.
  29. 1 Kings 10:17 sn Three minas. The mina was a unit of measure for weight.
  30. 1 Kings 10:17 sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. 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.
  31. 1 Kings 10:19 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
  32. 1 Kings 10:20 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for all the kingdoms.”
  33. 1 Kings 10:21 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
  34. 1 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
  35. 1 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
  36. 1 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “came carrying.”
  37. 1 Kings 10:22 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest “baboons.”
  38. 1 Kings 10:23 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”
  39. 1 Kings 10:24 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “all the kings of the earth.” See 2 Chr 9:23.
  40. 1 Kings 10:24 tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
  41. 1 Kings 10:25 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
  42. 1 Kings 10:26 tn Or “gathered.”
  43. 1 Kings 10:26 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
  44. 1 Kings 10:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are added for clarification.
  45. 1 Kings 10:27 tn Heb “he made.”
  46. 1 Kings 10:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  47. 1 Kings 10:28 sn From Egypt. Because Que is also mentioned, some prefer to see in vv. 28-29 a reference to Mutsur. Que and Mutsur were located in Cilicia/Cappadocia (in modern southern Turkey). See HALOT 625 s.v. מִצְרַיִם.
  48. 1 Kings 10:29 tn Heb “and a chariot went up and came out of Egypt for six hundred silver [pieces], and a horse for one hundred fifty, and in the same way to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand they brought out.”
Close NLT

1 Kings 10
New Living Translation

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

10 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord,[a] she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. 3 Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, 5 she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.

6 She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements[b] and wisdom is true! 7 I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. 8 How happy your people[c] must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! 9 Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

10 Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds[d] of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (In addition, Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood[e] and precious jewels. 12 The king used the sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before or since has there been such a supply of sandalwood.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all the customary gifts he had so generously given. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

14 Each year Solomon received about 25 tons[f] of gold. 15 This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.

16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than fifteen pounds.[g] 17 He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing nearly four pounds.[h] The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps and a rounded back. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. 20 There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!

21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!

22 The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish that sailed with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[i]

23 So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. 24 People from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. 25 Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

26 Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses.[j] He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.[k] 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt[l] and from Cilicia[m]; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price. 29 At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver,[n] and horses for 150 pieces of silver.[o] They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 Or which was due to the name of the Lord. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  2. 10:6 Hebrew your words.
  3. 10:8 Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate read your wives.
  4. 10:10 Hebrew 120 talents [4,000 kilograms].
  5. 10:11 Hebrew almug wood; also in 10:12.
  6. 10:14 Hebrew 666 talents [23 metric tons].
  7. 10:16 Hebrew 600 [shekels] of gold [6.8 kilograms].
  8. 10:17 Hebrew 3 minas [1.8 kilograms].
  9. 10:22 Or and baboons.
  10. 10:26 Or charioteers; also in 10:26b.
  11. 10:27 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  12. 10:28a Possibly Muzur, a district near Cilicia; also in 10:29.
  13. 10:28b Hebrew Kue, probably another name for Cilicia.
  14. 10:29a Hebrew 600 [shekels] of silver, about 15 pounds or 6.8 kilograms in weight.
  15. 10:29b Hebrew 150 [shekels], about 3.8 pounds or 1.7 kilograms in weight.
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