Chapter 10

The Queen of Sheba’s Visit.^{[a] 1} When the Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation, she came to test him with difficult questions.^{[b] 2} She came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels carrying spices and large quantities of gold and precious stones. When she arrived upon her visit to Solomon, she told him everything that was on her mind. ³ Solomon answered all of her questions. There were no hidden things that Solomon could not tell her.

⁴ When the Queen of Sheba saw all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace that he had built, ⁵ the food on his table, the assembly of his servants, the attendance of his ministers in their robes and their cupbearers, and the way that he went up into the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. ⁶ She said to the king, “The report that I heard in my own land concerning your actions and your wisdom are true. ⁷ However, I could not believe the report until I had come and seen it with my own eyes. They did not tell me the half of it. Your wisdom and your wealth exceed the report that I heard. ⁸ Happy are your men and happy are these, your servants, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom. ⁹ Blessed be the Lord, your God, who delights in you, placing you upon the throne of Israel. The Lord of Israel has established you as king to exercise justice and righteousness because he has loved you forever.”

¹⁰ She then gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious stones. A more abundant quantity of spices never arrived than that which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ Furthermore, the ships of Hiram that had brought the gold from Ophir also brought large quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. ¹² The king made steps of almug wood for the temple of the Lord and for the king’s palace as well as harps and stringed instruments for accompanying singers. Almug wood such as this has not arrived or been seen up to the present day.

¹³ King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba whatever she desired. He gave her whatever she asked for in addition to what King Solomon had already given her. She then returned, going to her own country along with her servants.

¹⁴ Solomon’s Wealth.^[c]The weight of the gold that Solomon would receive in a year was six hundred, sixty-six talents ¹⁵ in addition to what he received from merchants and the profits from trade, as well as from the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.

¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred shields from beaten gold. Each of the shields contained six hundred shekels of gold. ¹⁷ He also made three hundred shields from beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield. The king placed them in the palace built with the wood of Lebanon. ¹⁸ The king also made an ivory throne and had it overlaid with fine gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and the back of the throne had a rounded top. On either side of the seat there were armrests, and there was a lion standing alongside each of the armrests. ²⁰ There were twelve lions standing upon the six steps, with one on each side of the step. Nothing like this had ever been made in any other kingdom.

²¹ All of King Solomon’s goblets were made of gold, and all of the other utensils in the palace made from Lebanon wood were also made from the finest gold. Nothing was made from silver, for it was not considered to be worth anything in Solomon’s time.

²² The king also had ships of Tarshish at sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons with them. ²³ King Solomon was greater in wealth and wisdom than all of the other kings on the earth.

²⁴ Solomon’s Acclaim. Everyone on the earth sought to visit Solomon to listen to his wisdom which God had placed in his heart. ²⁵ Year after year, everyone brought him presents of things made from silver, things made from gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and donkeys.

²⁶ Solomon’s Chariots and Horses. Solomon collected chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand, four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed them in cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

²⁷ The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem. Cedar became as common as the sycamore that abounds in the Shephelah.^{[d] 28} Solomon brought horses from Egypt and Cilicia. The king’s merchants bought them in Cilicia. ²⁹ They imported chariots from Egypt that cost six hundred silver shekels and horses that cost one hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all of the Hittite and Aramean kings.