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And the queen of Sheba, when she had heard (of) the fame of Solomon, came into Jerusalem for to assay him in dark figures[a], or likenesses (came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions), (along) with great riches, and camels, that bare sweet smelling spices, and full much of gold, and precious gems, either pearls. And when she was come to Solomon, she spake to him whatever things were in her heart.

And Solomon expounded to her (on) all things which she had put forth to him, and nothing was, that he made not open, or known, to her.

And after that she saw these things, that is, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had builded,

also and the meats of his board (and also the food on his table), and the dwelling places of his servants, and the offices of his ministers, and the clothes of them, and the butlers, and their clothes, and the sacrifices which he offered in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit (left) in her for wondering, for these things passed her understanding.

And she said to the king, The word is true, which I heard in my land, of thy virtues (of thy works, or thy deeds), and [of thy] wisdom;

I believed not to [the] tellers, till I myself had come, and mine eyes had seen, and I had proved that scarcely the half of thy wisdom was told to me; thou hast overcome, or (sur)passed, the fame by thy virtues (thou hast even surpassed the reports that I heard).

Blessed be thy men, and blessed be thy servants, these that stand before thee in all time (these who always stand in thy presence), and hear thy wisdom.

Blessed be the Lord God, that would ordain thee on his throne king of the people of the Lord thy God; truly for God loveth Israel, and will save him without end, therefore he hath set thee king upon him, that thou do dooms and rightfulness. (Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath ordained thee upon his throne to be the king of the people of the Lord thy God; for God truly loveth Israel, and will save them forevermore, and so he hath set thee to be king upon them, so that thou can give them judgements and laws.)

And she gave to the king sixscore talents of gold, and full many sweet smelling spices, and most precious gems; there were not such sweet smelling spices, as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon (there were never such sweet smelling spices in Israel, as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon).

10 But also the servants of Hiram[b], with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and trees of thyine (and algum wood), and most precious gems;

11 of which, that is, of the thyine trees, the king made degrees in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also he made harps, and psalteries to singers; such trees were never seen in the land of Judah. (of which, from the algum wood, the king made stairs in the House of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also he made harps, and lutes for the singers; such wood was never seen before in the land of Judah.)

12 And [king] Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all things which she would, and which she asked, many more than she had brought to him. And she turned again, and went into her land with her servants. (And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all the things which she desired, and which she asked for, indeed many more things than she had brought to him. And then she returned to her land with her servants.)

13 And the weight of gold, that was brought to Solomon by each year, was six hundred and six and sixty talents of gold,

14 besides that sum which the legates of diverse folks, and merchants were wont to bring, and all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of (other) lands, which brought together gold and silver to Solomon (who all brought gold and silver to Solomon).

15 Therefore king Solomon made two hundred golden spears of the sum of six hundred florins, either pieces of gold, that were spended in each spear; (And so King Solomon made two hundred gold spears, where six hundred florins, or pieces of gold, were used to make each spear;)

16 and he made three hundred golden shields of three hundred florins/three hundred pieces of gold, with which each shield was covered; and the king putted those in the armoury place, that was set in the wood (and the king put them all in the House of the Forest of Lebanon).

17 Also the king made a great seat, or throne, of ivory, and he covered it with most clean gold; (And the king made a great ivory throne, and he covered it with the purest gold;)

18 and he made six degrees by which men went up to the seat, and a golden stool, and twain arms, one against the tother, and two lions standing beside the arms; (and he made six steps by which people went up to the throne, and a gold stool, and it had two arms, one opposite the other, and two lions standing beside the arms;)

19 but also he made twelve little lions standing upon [the] six degrees on ever either side of the throne (and he also made twelve little lions standing on the six steps on either side of the throne). Such a throne was not in all realms, that is, in none of all the realms of the world.

20 And all the vessels of the feast of the king were (made) of gold, and the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were (made) of most pure gold; for silver in those days was areckoned for nought.

21 For also the ships of the king went into Tarshish with the servants of Hiram once in three years, and they brought (back) from thence gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

22 And king Solomon was magnified over all [the] kings of the earth for his riches and glory.

23 And all the kings of (the) lands desired to see the face of Solomon, for to hear the wisdom that God had given in his heart;

24 and they brought to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, clothes, and armours (and arms, or weapons), and sweet smelling spices, horses and mules, by each year.

25 And Solomon had forty thousand of horses in stables, and twelve thousand of chariots and of knights; and he ordained them in the cities of chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem. (And Solomon had four thousand chariots and their horses in his stables, and twelve thousand cavalry horses; and he ordained them to be in the cities for the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.)

26 Forsooth he used power on all the kings, from the flood of Euphrates unto the land of Philistines, and unto the terms of Egypt. (And he exercised power over all the kings from the Euphrates River unto the land of the Philistines, and the border with Egypt.)

27 And he gave so great plenty of silver in Jerusalem, as of stones, and so great multitude of cedar trees, as of sycamores that grow in field places. (And he made silver in Jerusalem to be as plentiful as stones, and cedar trees to be as plentiful as the sycamores that grow in the fields.)

28 And horses were brought to Solomon from Egypt, and from all countries.

29 Soothly the residue of the former works and the last of Solomon (And the rest of the first and the last deeds of Solomon), be written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the words of Ahijah of Shiloh, and in the vision, either prophecy, of Iddo, the prophet, against Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

30 Soothly Solomon reigned in Jerusalem on all Israel (for) forty years,

31 and he slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David, and Rehoboam, his son, reigned for him.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:1 Figurative speech is to speak one thing, and to understand another.
  2. 2 Chronicles 9:10 Also known as Huram.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)

When the queen of Sheba(B) heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon,(C) as well as the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came(D) and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne(E) as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king(F) over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

Then she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold,(G) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir;(H) they also brought algumwood[c] and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(I)

13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[d] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia(J) and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[e] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields(K) of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[f] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(L)

17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory(M) and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships[g] manned by Hiram’s[h] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.(N) 23 All the kings(O) of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(P)—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,(Q) and twelve thousand horses,[i] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled(R) over all the kings from the Euphrates River(S) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(T) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death(U)

29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan(V) the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah(W) the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam(X) son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David(Y) his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or and the ascent by which he went up to
  2. 2 Chronicles 9:9 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  3. 2 Chronicles 9:10 Probably a variant of almugwood
  4. 2 Chronicles 9:13 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  5. 2 Chronicles 9:15 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
  6. 2 Chronicles 9:16 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:25 Or charioteers