Old/New Testament
The Queen of Sheba
10 (A)Now when the (B)queen of (C)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came (D)to test him with difficult questions. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels (E)carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 Solomon [a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not [b]explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and [c]his stairway 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 Nevertheless I did not believe the [d]reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 How (F)blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; (H)because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, (I)to do justice and righteousness.” 10 (J)She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
11 (K)Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 (L)The king made of the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.
13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to [e]his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land [f]together with her servants.
Wealth, Splendor and Wisdom
14 (M)Now the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the [g]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the (N)Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 (O)King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, [h]using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 He made (P)300 shields of beaten gold, [i]using three minas of gold on each shield, and (Q)the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of (R)ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and [j]arms [k]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [l]arms. 20 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. 21 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. None was of silver; it was not considered [m]valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For (S)the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
23 (T)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, (U)to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 (V)They brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 (W)Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he [n]stationed them in the (X)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 (Y)The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [o]lowland. 28 (Z)Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 A chariot [p]was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and [q]by the same means they exported them (AA)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.
Solomon Turns from God
11 Now (AB)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “(AC)You shall not [r]associate with them, nor shall they [s]associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. 3 (AD)He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and (AE)his heart was not [t]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after (AF)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after [u](AG)Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for (AH)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is [v]east of Jerusalem, and for (AI)Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now (AJ)the Lord was angry with Solomon (AK)because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, (AL)who had appeared to him twice, 10 and (AM)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because [w]you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, (AN)I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, (AO)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but (AP)I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and (AQ)for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
God Raises Adversaries
14 Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the [x]royal line in Edom. 15 For it came about, (AR)when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had (AS)struck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel stayed there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled [y]to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. 18 They arose from Midian and came to (AT)Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. 19 Now Hadad found great favor [z]before Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But (AU)when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Send me away, that I may go to my own country.” 22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that behold, you are seeking to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must surely [aa]let me go.”
23 (AV)God also raised up another adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord (AW)Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 He gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, (AX)after David slew them of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed [ab]there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the evil that Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Aram.
26 Then (AY)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, (AZ)also [ac]rebelled against the king. 27 Now this was the reason why he [ad]rebelled against the king: (BA)Solomon built the [ae]Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when (BB)Solomon saw that the young man was [af]industrious, he appointed him over all the [ag]forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 It came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that (BC)the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now [ah]Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. 30 Then (BD)Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, (BE)I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes 32 ((BF)but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, (BG)the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken Me, and (BH)have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, (BI)Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. 34 Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him [ai]ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; 35 but (BJ)I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you, even ten tribes. 36 But (BK)to his son I will give one tribe, (BL)that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, (BM)the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 37 I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever [aj]you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then (BN)I will be with you and (BO)build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 Thus I will afflict the [ak]descendants of David for this, but not always.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to (BP)Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
The Death of Solomon
41 (BQ)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 Thus (BR)the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon (BS)slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son (BT)Rehoboam reigned in his place.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem (A)surrounded by armies, then [a]recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of [b]the city must leave, and (B)those who are in the country must not enter [c]the city; 22 because these are (C)days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for (D)there will be great distress upon the [d]land and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by (E)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and (F)Jerusalem will be (G)trampled under foot by the Gentiles until (H)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Return of Christ
25 “There will be [e]signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the [f]world; for the powers of [g]the heavens will be shaken. 27 (I)Then they will see (J)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because (K)your redemption is drawing near.”
29 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and (L)know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, [h]recognize that (M)the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this [i]generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 (N)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34 “(O)Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 But (P)keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to (Q)stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Now [j]during the day He was (R)teaching in the temple, but [k](S)at evening He would go out and spend the night on [l](T)the mount that is called [m]Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up (U)early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.