Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close LSB

2 Chronicles 9
Legacy Standard Bible

The Queen of Sheba

9 (A)Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2 And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; and not a matter was hidden from Solomon which he did not declare to her. 3 Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and [a]his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 5 Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 Nevertheless I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You exceed the report which I heard. 7 How [b]blessed are your men, how [c]blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 8 Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, (B)to set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; (C)because your God loved Israel to cause them to stand forever, therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king [d]120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. There had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Also, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, (D)who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. 11 And the king made of the algum trees steps for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.

12 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned around and went to her own land together with her servants.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

13 (E)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all (F)the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, [e]using [f]600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, [g]using [h]300 shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 And there were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and [i]arms [j]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [k]arms. 19 Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 Now all King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered [l]valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 (G)For the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

22 (H)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 24 (I)And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, a set amount year by year.

25 And Solomon had (J)4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 (K)And he was the ruler over all the kings from the [m]River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27 (L)The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [n]Shephelah. 28 (M)And they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.

The Death of Solomon

29 (N)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, (O)are they not written in the [o]chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of [p]Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 (P)Thus Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in (Q)the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or his burnt offering which he offered
  2. 2 Chronicles 9:7 Or happy
  3. 2 Chronicles 9:7 Or happy
  4. 2 Chronicles 9:9 Approx. 4.5 tons or 4.08 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
  5. 2 Chronicles 9:15 Lit he brought up
  6. 2 Chronicles 9:15 Approx. 15 lb. or 8.4 kg
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:16 Lit he brought up
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:16 Approx. 7.5 lb. or 4.2 kg
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit on this side and on this at the place of the seat
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:20 Lit anything
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:26 The Euphrates River
  14. 2 Chronicles 9:27 Or lowland
  15. 2 Chronicles 9:29 Lit words
  16. 2 Chronicles 9:29 Heb Jedo
Close NLT

2 Chronicles 9
New Living Translation

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

9 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. 2 Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, 4 she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers and their robes, and the burnt offerings[a] Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.

5 She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements[b] and wisdom is true! 6 I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told. 7 How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! 8 Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule for him. Because God loves Israel and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king over them so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

9 Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds[c] of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 (In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwood[d] and precious jewels. 11 The king used the sandalwood to make steps[e] for the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.)

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for—gifts of greater value than the gifts she had given him. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

13 Each year Solomon received about 25 tons[f] of gold. 14 This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds.[g] 16 He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1⁄2 pounds.[h] The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

17 Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. 19 There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!

20 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!

21 The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish manned by the sailors sent by Hiram.[i] Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[j]

22 So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. 23 Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. 24 Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses.[k] He stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River[l] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. 27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.[m] 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt[n] and many other countries.

Summary of Solomon’s Reign

29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and also in The Visions of Iddo the Seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31 When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.

Footnotes

  1. 9:4 As in Greek and Syriac versions (see also 1 Kgs 10:5); Hebrew reads and the ascent.
  2. 9:5 Hebrew your words.
  3. 9:9 Hebrew 120 talents [4,000 kilograms].
  4. 9:10 Hebrew algum wood (also in 9:11); perhaps a variant spelling of almug. Compare parallel text at 1 Kgs 10:11-12.
  5. 9:11 Or gateways. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  6. 9:13 Hebrew 666 talents [23 metric tons].
  7. 9:15 Hebrew 600 [shekels] of hammered gold [6.8 kilograms].
  8. 9:16 Hebrew 300 [shekels] of gold [3.4 kilograms].
  9. 9:21a Hebrew Huram, a variant spelling of Hiram.
  10. 9:21b Or and baboons.
  11. 9:25 Or 12,000 charioteers.
  12. 9:26 Hebrew the river.
  13. 9:27 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  14. 9:28 Possibly Muzur, a district near Cilicia.
Next
2 Chronicles 8
2 Chronicles 10
Next
dropdown
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.