The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(A)Now when the ^(B)queen of ^(C)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the Lord, she came ^(D)to test him with riddles. ² So she came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels ^(E)carrying balsam oil and a very large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him about everything that was in her heart. ³ And Solomon ^[a]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, ⁵ and the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, ^[b]she was breathless. ⁶ Then she said to the king, “It was a true ^[c]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ But I did not believe the ^[d]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. ^8 (F)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! ^9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; ^(H)because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, ^(I)to do justice and righteousness.” ¹⁰ Then ^(J)she gave the king ^[e]120 talents of gold, and a very large amount of balsam oil and precious stones. Never again did such a large quantity of balsam oil come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

9 ^(A)Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very large entourage, with camels carrying balsam oil and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her heart. ² Solomon ^[a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from Solomon which he did not ^[b]explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, ⁴ the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and ^[c]his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless. ⁵ Then she said to the king, “It was a true ^[d]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁶ But I did not believe their ^[e]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, not even half of the greatness of your wisdom was reported to me. You have surpassed the report that I heard. ⁷ How ^[f]blessed are your men, how ^[g]blessed are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! ⁸ Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, ^(B)setting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; ^(C)because your God loved Israel, establishing them forever, He made you king over them, to carry out justice and righteousness.” ⁹ Then she gave the king ^[h]120 talents of gold and a very great amount of balsam oil and precious stones; there had never been balsam oil like that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

¹⁰ The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon ^(D)who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones. ¹¹ From the algum trees the king made steps to the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; and nothing like them was seen before in the land of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire, whatever she requested, besides gifts equal to what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her own land with her servants.