The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon^(A)

10 Now when the ^(B)queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came ^(C)to test him with hard questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very great ^[a]retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. ³ So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing ^[b]so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. ⁴ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, ^(D)and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. ⁶ Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. ^8 (E)Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! ^9 (F)Blessed be the Lord your God, who ^(G)delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, ^(H)to do justice and righteousness.”

¹⁰ Then she ^(I)gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

² if indeed you have heard of the ^[a]dispensation of the grace of God ^(A)which was given to me for you, ^3 (B)how that by revelation ^(C)He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, ⁴ by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), ⁵ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: ⁶ that the Gentiles ^(D)should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, ^7 (E)of which I became a minister ^(F)according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by ^(G)the effective working of His power.

Purpose of the Mystery

⁸ To me, ^(H)who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles ^(I)the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all see what is the ^[b]fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who ^(J)created all things ^[c]through Jesus Christ; ^10 (K)to the intent that now ^(L)the ^[d]manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church ^(M)to the ^[e]principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ^11 (N)according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access ^(O)with confidence through faith in Him.

Wise Men from the East

2 Now after ^(A)Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, ^[a]wise men ^(B)from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, ^(C)“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen ^(D)His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all ^(E)the chief priests and ^(F)scribes of the people together, ^(G)he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the ^[b]wise men, determined from them what time the ^(J)star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, ^(K)they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² Then, being divinely warned ^(L)in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.