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2 Chronicles 9
New American Standard Bible

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

9 (A)Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very large entourage, with camels carrying balsam oil and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her heart. 2 Solomon [a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from Solomon which he did not [b]explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and [c]his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless. 5 Then she said to the king, “It was a true [d]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 But I did not believe their [e]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, not even half of the greatness of your wisdom was reported to me. You have surpassed the report that I heard. 7 How [f]blessed are your men, how [g]blessed are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, (B)setting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; (C)because your God loved Israel, establishing them forever, He made you king over them, to carry out justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king [h]120 talents of gold and a very great amount of balsam oil and precious stones; there had never been balsam oil like that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

10 The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon (D)who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones. 11 From the algum trees the king made steps to the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; and nothing like them was seen before in the land of Judah.

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire, whatever she requested, besides gifts equal to what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her own land with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Power

13 (E)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was [i]666 talents of gold, 14 besides what 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 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, [j]using six hundred shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 He made three hundred shields of beaten gold, [k]using three hundred 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 There were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and [l]arms [m]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [n]arms. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 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 [o]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 bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

22 (H)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth 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)They were bringing, each of them his gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

25 Now Solomon had (J)four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 (K)He was ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt. 27 (L)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [p]lowland. 28 (M)And they were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.

29 (N)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from the first to the last, (O)are they not written in the [q]records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of [r]Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 (P)Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

Death of Solomon

31 And Solomon [s]lay down with his fathers and was buried in (Q)the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:2 Lit told her all her words
  2. 2 Chronicles 9:2 Lit tell
  3. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or his burnt offering which he offered
  4. 2 Chronicles 9:5 Lit word
  5. 2 Chronicles 9:6 Lit words
  6. 2 Chronicles 9:7 Or happy
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:7 Or happy
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:9 About 4.5 tons or 4 metric tons
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:13 About 25 tons or 23 metric tons
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:15 Lit he brought up
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:16 Lit he brought up
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit from this and from this at the place of the seat
  14. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
  15. 2 Chronicles 9:20 Lit anything
  16. 2 Chronicles 9:27 Heb shephelah
  17. 2 Chronicles 9:29 Lit words
  18. 2 Chronicles 9:29 Heb Jedo
  19. 2 Chronicles 9:31 I.e., died
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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.
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