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. ^11 (J)Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of ^[c]almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. ^12 (K)And the king made ^[d]steps of the almug wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such ^(L)almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.

¹³ Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.