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10 And the queen of Saba, having; heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.

And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart.

And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him: there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not answer her.

And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,

And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord: she had no longer any spirit in her,

And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country,

Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy works, exceed the fame which I heard.

Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom.

Blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.

11 (The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and citterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine trees as these brought, nor seen unto this day.)

13 And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered he himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.

14 And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:

15 Besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.

16 And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sides of gold for the plates of one shield.

17 And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus.

18 King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.

19 It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand.

20 And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom.

21 Moreover all the vessels, out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon:

22 For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks.

23 And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches, and wisdom.

24 And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart.

25 And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments and armour, and spices, and horses and mules every year.

26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horseman: and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.

27 And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains.

28 And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king's merchants brought them out of Coa, and bought them at a set price.

29 And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sides of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.

The Queen of Sheba

10 (A)Now when the (B)queen of (C)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the Lord, she came (D)to test him with riddles. So she came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels (E)carrying balsam oil and a very large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him about everything that was in her heart. And Solomon [a]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, [b]she was breathless. Then she said to the king, “It was a true [c]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. But I did not believe the [d]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. (F)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! (G)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; (H)because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, (I)to do justice and righteousness.” 10 Then (J)she gave the king [e]120 talents of gold, and a very large amount of balsam oil and precious stones. Never again did such a large quantity of balsam oil come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 (K)And the ships of Hiram as well, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 (L)The king made from the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day.

13 And King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she requested, besides what he gave her in proportion to [f]his royal bounty. Then she [g]departed and went to her own land [h]together with her servants.

Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom

14 (M)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was [i]666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders, and the [j]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the (N)Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 (O)King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, [k]using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made (P)three hundred small shields of beaten gold, [l]using [m]three minas of gold on each shield; and (Q)the king put them in the house of the timber of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a large throne of (R)ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its back, and [n]armrests [o]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [p]armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for [q]any other kingdom. 21 Now all King Solomon’s drinking utensils were of gold, and all the utensils of the house of the timber of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered as amounting to anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For (S)the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

23 (T)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the [r]attention of Solomon, (U)to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 And (V)they were bringing, everyone, [s]a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 (W)Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he [t]stationed them in the (X)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 (Y)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [u]lowland. 28 (Z)Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price. 29 A chariot [v]was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and [w]by the same means they exported them (AA)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words
  2. 1 Kings 10:5 Lit there was no more breath in her
  3. 1 Kings 10:6 Lit word
  4. 1 Kings 10:7 Lit words
  5. 1 Kings 10:10 About 4.5 tons or 4 metric tons
  6. 1 Kings 10:13 Lit the hand of King Solomon
  7. 1 Kings 10:13 Lit turned around
  8. 1 Kings 10:13 Lit she and her
  9. 1 Kings 10:14 About 25 tons or 23 metric tons
  10. 1 Kings 10:15 Or traffic
  11. 1 Kings 10:16 Lit he brought up
  12. 1 Kings 10:17 Lit he brought up
  13. 1 Kings 10:17 About 3.8 lb. or 1.7 kg
  14. 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
  15. 1 Kings 10:19 Lit from this and from this at the place of the seat
  16. 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
  17. 1 Kings 10:20 Lit all kingdoms
  18. 1 Kings 10:24 Lit face
  19. 1 Kings 10:25 Lit his gift
  20. 1 Kings 10:26 As in ancient versions; MT led
  21. 1 Kings 10:27 Heb Shephelah
  22. 1 Kings 10:29 Lit came up and went out from
  23. 1 Kings 10:29 Lit in the same way by their hand