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2 Chronicles 9
Christian Standard Bible

The Queen of Sheba

9 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame,(A) so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind. 2 So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba observed Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built, 4 the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.

5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. 6 But I didn’t believe their reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half of your great wisdom! You far exceed the report I heard. 7 How happy are your men.[a](B) How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom. 8 Blessed be the Lord your God! He delighted in you and put you on his throne as king for the Lord your God.(C) Because your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, he has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”(D)

9 Then she gave the king four and a half tons[b] of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There never were such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 In addition, Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir(E) also brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 The king made the algum wood into walkways for the Lord’s temple and for the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire, whatever she asked—far more than she had brought the king. Then she, along with her servants, returned to her own country.

Solomon’s Wealth

13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon(F) annually was twenty-five tons,[c] 14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds[d] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 7½ pounds[e] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(G)

17 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps; there was a footstool covered in gold for the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

20 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 21 for the king’s ships kept going to Tarshish(H) with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[f]

22 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.(I) 23 All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Each of them would bring his own gift—items[g] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,[h][i] spices, and horses and mules—as an annual tribute.

25 Solomon(J) had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.(K) He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.(L) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. 28 They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.

Solomon’s Death

29 The remaining events(M) of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of the Prophet Nathan, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Visions of the Seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.(N) 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31 Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David.(O) His son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 9:7 LXX, Old Lat read wives; 1Kg 10:8
  2. 9:9 Lit 120 talents
  3. 9:13 Lit 666 talents
  4. 9:15 Lit 600 (shekels)
  5. 9:16 Lit 300 (shekels)
  6. 9:21 Or baboons
  7. 9:24 Or vessels, or weapons
  8. 9:24 LXX reads resin
  9. 9:24 Or fragrant balsam
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2 Chronicles 9
New English Translation

Solomon Entertains a Queen

9 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,[a] she came to challenge[b] him[c] with difficult questions.[d] She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp,[e] bringing with her camels carrying spices,[f] a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.[g] 3 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s wisdom, the palace[h] he had built, 4 the food in his banquet hall,[i] his servants and attendants[j] in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple,[k] she was amazed.[l] 5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight[m] was true! 6 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story![n] Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. 7 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy![o] 8 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored[p] you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf.[q] Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them,[r] he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.”[s] 9 She gave the king 120 talents[t] of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.[u] 10 (Huram’s[v] servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as[w] fine[x] timber and precious gems. 11 With the timber the king made steps[y] for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments[z] for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah before that.[aa]) 12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him.[ab] Then she left and returned[ac] to her homeland with her attendants.

Solomon’s Wealth

13 Solomon received 666 talents[ad] of gold per year,[ae] 14 besides what he collected from the merchants[af] and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[ag] of hammered gold were used for each shield. 16 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures[ah] of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[ai]

17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne.[aj] The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[ak] 19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.[al]

20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.[am] 21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships[an] manned by Huram’s men[ao] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[ap] came into port with cargoes of[aq] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[ar]

22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[as] 23 All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[at] 24 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[au]

25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses[av] and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and also with him in Jerusalem.[aw] 26 He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[ax] to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as plentiful[ay] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[az] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[ba] 28 Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded[bb] in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 31 Then Solomon passed away[bc] and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “test.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
  4. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “riddles.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
  6. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “balsam oil.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:2 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:3 tn Heb “house.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the Lord.” But עֲלִיָּתוֹ (ʿaliyyato, “his upper room”) should be emended to עֹלָתוֹ, (ʿolato, “his burnt sacrifice[s]”). See the parallel account in 1 Kgs 10:5.
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:5 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 9:6 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 9:7 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
  16. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Or “delighted in.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “as king for the Lord your God.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 9:9 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
  21. 2 Chronicles 9:9 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
  23. 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “algum.”
  25. 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
  27. 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 9:12 tn Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 9:12 tn Heb “turned and went.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
  31. 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 9:14 tn Heb “traveling men.”
  33. 2 Chronicles 9:15 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
  34. 2 Chronicles 9:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
  35. 2 Chronicles 9:16 sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
  36. 2 Chronicles 9:18 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
  37. 2 Chronicles 9:18 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
  38. 2 Chronicles 9:19 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
  39. 2 Chronicles 9:20 tn Heb “there was no silver regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
  40. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
  41. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “servants.”
  42. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
  43. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
  44. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
  45. 2 Chronicles 9:22 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
  46. 2 Chronicles 9:23 tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
  47. 2 Chronicles 9:24 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
  48. 2 Chronicles 9:25 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
  49. 2 Chronicles 9:25 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
  50. 2 Chronicles 9:26 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
  51. 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
  52. 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn Heb “he made cedar.”
  53. 2 Chronicles 9:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  54. 2 Chronicles 9:29 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, the former and the latter, are they not written?”
  55. 2 Chronicles 9:31 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
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