2 Chronicles 9
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Visit of the Queen of Sheba
9 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she discussed with him all that was on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba had observed the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his valets, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings[a] that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit left in her.
5 So she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the[b] reports until I came and my own eyes saw it. Not even half of the greatness of your wisdom had been told to me; you far surpass the report that I had heard. 7 Happy are your people! Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God. Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones: there were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 From the algum wood, the king made steps[c] for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; there never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.
12 Meanwhile King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba every desire that she expressed, well beyond what she had brought to the king. Then she returned to her own land, with her servants.
Solomon’s Great Wealth
13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went into each large shield. 16 He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 The king also made a great ivory throne, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were arm rests and two lions standing beside the arm rests, 19 while twelve lions were standing, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any 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 as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[d]
22 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 23 All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 24 Every one of them brought a present, objects of silver and gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. 25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
Death of Solomon
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of the prophet Nathan, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of the seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:4 Gk Syr Vg 1 Kings 10.5: Heb ascent
- 2 Chronicles 9:6 Heb their
- 2 Chronicles 9:11 Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or baboons
2 Chronicles 9
King James Version
9 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
2 And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.
3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
4 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
5 And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
7 Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.
8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.
10 And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.
11 And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the Lord, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.
12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.
13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;
14 Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.
16 And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one 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, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays:
19 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
20 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
22 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.
24 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.
28 And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
2 Chronicles 9
New King James Version
The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon(A)
9 Now (B)when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his (C)cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
5 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. 7 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God! Because your God has (D)loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”
9 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, (E)who brought gold from Ophir, brought [a]algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made walkways of the [b]algum wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.
12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Great Wealth(F)
13 (G)The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; [c]three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the (H)House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were [d]armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to (I)Tarshish with the servants of [e]Hiram. Once every three years the [f]merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [g]monkeys.
22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, (J)armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
25 Solomon (K)had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 (L)So he reigned over all the kings (M)from [h]the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 (N)The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees (O)as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28 (P)And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
Death of Solomon(Q)
29 (R)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of (S)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of (T)Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 (U)Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then Solomon [i]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:10 almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12
- 2 Chronicles 9:11 almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 three minas, 1 Kin. 10:17
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit. hands
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 10:22
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea vessels
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or peacocks
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 The Euphrates
- 2 Chronicles 9:31 Died and joined his ancestors
2 Sử Ký 9
New Vietnamese Bible
Nữ Vương Sê-ba Viếng Thăm Vua Sa-lô-môn
9 Khi nữ vương xứ Sê-ba nghe về danh tiếng vua Sa-lô-môn, bà đến Giê-ru-sa-lem với những câu đố khó để thử vua. Bà đem theo đoàn lạc đà rất lớn, chở hương liệu, rất nhiều vàng và đá quí. Bà đến gặp vua Sa-lô-môn và thảo luận về mọi vấn đề bà suy nghĩ trong trí. 2 Vua Sa-lô-môn giải đáp mọi vấn đề bà đưa ra; không có vấn đề nào quá khó cho vua mà vua không giải đáp cho bà. 3 Khi nữ vương xứ Sê-ba thấy sự khôn ngoan của vua Sa-lô-môn, cung điện vua xây, 4 thức ăn trên bàn vua, triều đình, cách các quan chầu vua và y phục họ, các quan dâng rượu và y phục của họ, các tế lễ thiêu[a] vua dâng tại đền thờ CHÚA thì bà hết hồn.
5 Nữ vương nói với vua: Những điều tôi nghe ở trong nước tôi về các công trình và sự khôn ngoan của vua đều đúng. 6 Lúc ấy tôi chưa tin những điều tôi nghe cho đến khi tôi đến đây và thấy tận mắt; thật, những điều người ta mô tả cho tôi chưa bằng một nửa sự khôn ngoan vua có; vua vượt xa tiếng tăm tôi đã nghe. 7 Phước thay cho các quan viên của vua, phước thay cho những tôi tớ này, là những người hằng đứng chầu trước mặt vua và nghe những lời khôn ngoan của vua. 8 Đáng ca ngợi CHÚA, Đức Chúa Trời của vua, Ngài đã hài lòng về vua nên lập vua lên ngôi làm vua cho CHÚA, Đức Chúa Trời của vua. Vì Đức Chúa Trời của vua yêu mến Y-sơ-ra-ên, muốn bảo toàn nó đến đời đời nên Ngài lập vua lên cai trị họ để thi hành công lý và sự công chính. 9 Bấy giờ nữ vương tặng vua một trăm hai mươi ta-lâng vàng,[b] một số lượng rất lớn hương liệu và đá quí; chưa từng có thứ hương liệu nào giống như thứ hương liệu nữ vương Sê-ba tặng vua Sa-lô-môn.
10 Ngoài ra các tôi tớ vua Hu-ram và vua Sa-lô-môn khi đem vàng từ Ô-phia về cũng đem gỗ đàn hương và đá quí về. 11 Vua lấy gỗ đàn hương làm bậc thang cho đền thờ CHÚA, cung điện cho vua, đàn hạc, đàn lia cho các nhạc sĩ; từ trước đến nay người ta chưa bao giờ thấy những việc như vậy tại Giu-đa. 12 Vua Sa-lô-môn tặng cho nữ vương Sê-ba mọi điều bà mơ ước và xin; vua ban cho bà nhiều hơn những tặng phẩm bà dâng cho vua. Sau đó nữ vương và các tôi tớ bà trở về nước mình.
13 Mỗi năm vua Sa-lô-môn nhận được khoảng sáu trăm sáu mươi sáu ta-lâng,[c] 14 không kể số vàng những thương gia và người buôn bán đem vào. Tất cả các vua vùng A-ra-bia và thống đốc trong vùng cũng đem vàng, bạc đến cho vua Sa-lô-môn.
15 Vua Sa-lô-môn làm hai trăm cái khiên lớn bằng vàng dát, mỗi cái dùng sáu trăm bê-ka vàng,[d] 16 ba trăm cái khiên nhỏ bằng vàng dát, mỗi cái dùng ba trăm bê-ka vàng;[e] vua để những khiên ấy tại Cung Rừng ở Li-ban.
17 Vua làm một cái ngai lớn bằng ngà, bọc vàng ròng; 18 có một bậc thang sáu cấp và bệ chân bằng vàng đính vào ngai; hai bên ngai có thành tựa tay và hai con sư tử đứng bên thành tựa tay; 19 cũng có mười hai con sư tử đứng ở hai đầu mỗi nấc thang; không có nước nào làm ngai giống như vậy. 20 Tất cả các đồ dùng để uống của vua Sa-lô-môn đều bằng vàng và tất cả các vật dụng ở Cung Rừng ở Li-ban đều bằng vàng ròng. Trong thời vua Sa-lô-môn bạc không có giá trị gì. 21 Thật vậy, các thương thuyền của vua đi Ta-rê-si[f] với các tôi tớ vua Hu-ram; cứ mỗi ba năm tàu trở về mang theo vàng, bạc, ngà voi, đười ươi và chim công.
22 Như thế, vua Sa-lô-môn vĩ đại hơn tất cả các vua khác trên đất về cả giàu có lẫn khôn ngoan. 23 Tất cả các vua trên đất đều mong gặp mặt vua Sa-lô-môn để nghe sự khôn ngoan mà Đức Chúa Trời đã ban cho tâm trí ông; 24 mỗi người đều đem lễ vật bằng bạc, bằng vàng, y phục, vũ khí, hương liệu, ngựa và la; cứ như thế hằng năm.
25 Vua Sa-lô-môn có 4,000 chuồng ngựa và nhà để xe ngựa, 12,000[g] ở tại các thành chứa xe ngựa và ở bên cạnh vua tại Giê-ru-sa-lem. 26 Vua thống trị tất cả các vua từ sông cái[h] đến xứ Phi-li-tin cho đến biên giới Ai Cập. 27 Tại Giê-ru-sa-lem, vua làm cho bạc trở nên như đá sỏi và gỗ bá hương thì nhiều như cây vả ở vùng Sô-phê-la. 28 Vua Sa-lô-môn nhập cảng ngựa từ Ai Cập và mọi nước khác.
29 Còn các câu chuyện khác của vua Sa-lô-môn, từ đầu đến cuối, đều được ghi trong sách của tiên tri Na-than, trong sách tiên tri của A-hi-gia, người Si-lô, trong sách khải tượng của Giê-đô, vị tiên kiến nói về Giê-rô-bô-am, con trai Nê-bát. 30 Vua Sa-lô-môn trị vì toàn thể Y-sơ-ra-ên tại Giê-ru-sa-lem bốn mươi năm. 31 Vua Sa-lô-môn an nghỉ cùng tổ tiên mình, được chôn cất trong thành Đa-vít, thành của vua cha. Thái tử Rô-bô-am lên ngôi kế vị người.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Vietnamese Bible. Used by permission of VBI (www.nvbible.org)