⁴ When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built,

⁴² The queen of Sheba^[a] will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.

⁹ Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.

³ When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, ⁴ 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 their robes, and the burnt offerings^[a] Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv,^[a] during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.

² The Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.^{[b] 3} The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet^[c] wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet^[d] from the front of the Temple. ⁴ Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.

⁵ He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building. ⁶ The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 1⁄2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 1⁄2 feet wide.^[e] The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.

⁷ The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.

²⁹ God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. ³⁰ In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. ³¹ He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.

²⁸ When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.