The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(A)Now the ^(B)queen of ^(C)Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came ^(D)to test him with riddles. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels ^(E)carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart. ³ And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; there was not a matter which was hidden from the king which he did not declare to her. ⁴ Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and ^[a]his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. ⁶ Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ Nevertheless I did not believe those words, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not declared to 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 Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; ^(H)because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, ^(I)to do justice and righteousness.” ^10 (J)Then she gave the king ^[b]120 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 carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. ^12 (L)And the king made of the almug trees supports for the house of Yahweh 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 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to ^[c]his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

^14 (M)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that from the traders and the ^[d]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^(N)Arabs and the governors of the country. ^16 (O)And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, ^[e]using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. ¹⁷ And he made ^(P)300 shields of beaten gold, ^[f]using ^[g]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 ^[h]arms ^[i]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ^[j]arms. ²⁰ Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. ²¹ Now 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 ^[k]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 carrying 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 And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ^(U)to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. ^25 (V)And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.

^26 (W)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and ^[l]stationed them in the ^(X)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^27 (Y)The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ^[m]Shephelah. ^28 (Z)Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. ²⁹ And a chariot ^[n]was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ^[o]by the same means they exported them ^(AA)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.