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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. 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.
  2. 1 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words.
  3. 1 Kings 10:5 Lit going up; or his burnt offering which he offered at.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 1 Kings 10:17 About three pounds.
  8. 1 Kings 10:19 Or canopy.
  9. 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.
  10. 1 Kings 10:28 This was an area which, in NT times, was called Cilicia, the home province of the apostle Paul.
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1 Kings 10
Tree of Life Version

Queen of Sheba Marvels

10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon because of the Name of Adonai, she came to test him with hard questions. [a] 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels carrying spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him of all that was on her heart. 3 Solomon answered all her questions nothing was hidden from the king that he did not explain to her. 4 So when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace that he had built, 5 the food at his table, the seating of his courtiers, the attendance of his servants and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offering which he offered in the House of Adonai, she was left breathless.

6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your deeds and of your wisdom. 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and my eyes saw it. Indeed, not even the half was told to me. You’re way past the report of wisdom and prosperity that I’d heard! 8 Blessed are your people, blessed are your courtiers who are standing continually before you, listening to your wisdom. 9 Blessed be Adonai your God, who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. It is because of Adonai’s everlasting love for Israel that He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”

10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come as what the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Also Hiram’s ships that brought gold from Ophir brought from Ophir a great quantity of sandalwood and precious stones. 12 The king made from the sandalwood a railing for the House of Adonai and for the royal palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Never again did such quantity of sandalwood come in, nor have they been seen to this day.

13 So King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire—whatever she asked for—besides what King Solomon gave her out of his royal bounty. Then she and her servants left and returned to her own land.

Solomon’s Splendor

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides what was from the merchants from the traffic of the traders, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the region. 16 King Solomon made 200 full body shields of beaten gold—600 shekels[b] of gold on each shield— 17 and 300 small shields of beaten gold—three minas[c] of gold on each shield. The king put them in the Forest House of Lebanon. 18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the throne had a back with a rounded top, and there were armrests on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps—six on each side—nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

21 All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the Forest House of Lebanon were of pure gold. (None was of silver—that did not count for anything in the days of Solomon.) 22 For the king had a Tarshish fleet at sea with Hiram’s fleet; once every three years the Tarshish fleet came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.[d]

23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth as well as in wisdom. 24 All the earth sought an audience with Solomon, to listen to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 They brought, each man his gift—vessels of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses and mules—so much year by year. 26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 Also the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were brought from Egypt and from Keveh. The king’s merchants would buy them from Keveh at a price 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and in turn they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:2 cf. Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31.
  2. 1 Kings 10:16 About 15 pounds.
  3. 1 Kings 10:17 About 4 pounds.
  4. 1 Kings 10:22 Or baboons.
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Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.