1 Kings 10
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 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. 3 And Solomon [a]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 (F)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! 9 (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 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words
- 1 Kings 10:5 Lit there was no more breath in her
- 1 Kings 10:6 Lit word
- 1 Kings 10:7 Lit words
- 1 Kings 10:10 About 4.5 tons or 4 metric tons
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit the hand of King Solomon
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit turned around
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit she and her
- 1 Kings 10:14 About 25 tons or 23 metric tons
- 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 About 3.8 lb. or 1.7 kg
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit from this and from this at the place of the seat
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
- 1 Kings 10:20 Lit all kingdoms
- 1 Kings 10:24 Lit face
- 1 Kings 10:25 Lit his gift
- 1 Kings 10:26 As in ancient versions; MT led
- 1 Kings 10:27 Heb Shephelah
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit came up and went out from
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit in the same way by their hand
1 Kings 10
English Standard Version
The Queen of Sheba
10 (A)Now when (B)the queen of (C)Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came (D)to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels (E)bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 (F)Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! (H)Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, (I)that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 (J)Then she gave the king 120 talents[a] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Moreover, (K)the fleet of Hiram, which brought (L)gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.
13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.
Solomon's Great Wealth
14 (M)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels[b] of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 (N)shields of beaten gold; three minas[c] of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in (O)the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top,[d] and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of (P)the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had (Q)a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[e]
23 (R)Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh,[f] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 (S)And Solomon gathered together (T)chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the (U)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as (V)the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon's (W)import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of (X)the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:10 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- 1 Kings 10:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- 1 Kings 10:17 A mina was about 1 1/4 pounds or 0.6 kilogram
- 1 Kings 10:19 Or and at the back of the throne was a calf's head
- 1 Kings 10:22 Or baboons
- 1 Kings 10:25 Or armor
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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