1 Kings 10
10
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
1The queen of Sheba heard about how famous Solomon was. She also heard about how he served and worshiped the Lord. So she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large group of attendants. Her camels were carrying spices, huge amounts of gold, and valuable jewels. She came to Solomon and asked him about everything she wanted to know. 3Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything too hard for the king to explain to her. 4So the queen of Sheba saw how very wise Solomon was. She saw the palace he had built. 5She saw the food on his table. She saw his officials sitting there. She saw the robes of the servants who waited on everyone. She saw his wine tasters. And she saw the burnt offerings Solomon sacrificed at the Lord’s temple. She could hardly believe everything she had seen.
6She said to the king, “Back in my own country I heard a report about you. I heard about how much you had accomplished. I also heard about how wise you are. Everything I heard is true. 7But I didn’t believe those things. So I came to see for myself. And now I believe it! You are twice as wise and wealthy as people say you are. The report I heard doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story about you. 8How happy your people must be! How happy your officials must be! They always get to serve you and hear the wise things you say. 9May the Lord your God be praised. He takes great delight in you. He placed you on the throne of Israel. The Lord will love Israel for all time to come. That’s why he has made you king. He knows that you will do what is fair and right.”
10She gave the king four and a half tons of gold. She also gave him huge amounts of spices and valuable jewels. No one would ever bring to King Solomon as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave him.
11Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir. From there they also brought huge amounts of almugwood and valuable jewels. 12The king used the almugwood to make supports for the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He also used it to make harps and lyres for those who played the music. That much almugwood has never been brought into Judah or seen there since that day.
13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for. That was in addition to what he had given her out of his royal riches. Then she left. She returned to her own country with her attendants.
Solomon’s Greatness
14Each year Solomon received 25 tons of gold. 15That didn’t include the money brought in by business and trade. It also didn’t include the money from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories.
16King Solomon made 200 large shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed 15 pounds. 17He also made 300 small shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed seven and a half pounds. The king put all the shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18Then he made a large throne. It was covered with ivory. And that was covered with fine gold. 19The throne had six steps. Its back had a rounded top. The throne had armrests on both sides of the seat. A statue of a lion stood on each side of the throne. 20Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one at each end of each step. Nothing like that throne had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21All of King Solomon’s cups were made out of gold. All the things used in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made out of pure gold. Nothing was made out of silver. When Solomon was king, silver wasn’t considered to be worth very much. 22He had many ships that carried goods to be traded. His ships went to sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships returned. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.
23King Solomon was richer than all the other kings on earth. He was also wiser than they were. 24People from the whole world wanted to meet Solomon in person. They wanted to see for themselves how wise God had made him. 25Year after year, everyone who came to him brought a gift. They brought gifts made out of silver and gold. They brought robes, weapons and spices. They also brought horses and mules.
26Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept some of his horses and chariots in the chariot cities. He kept the others with him in Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar wood as common there as sycamore-fig trees in the western hills. 28Solomon got horses from Egypt and from Kue. The royal traders bought them from Kue at the current price. 29They weighed out 15 pounds of silver for a chariot from Egypt. And they weighed out almost four pounds of silver for a horse. They also sold horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 10: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 Kings 10
10
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
1The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, so she came to test him with hard questions. 2She traveled to Jerusalem with a very large group of servants. There were many camels carrying spices, jewels, and a lot of gold. She met Solomon and asked him all the questions that she could think of. 3Solomon answered all the questions. None of her questions was too hard for him to explain. 4The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She also saw the beautiful palace he had built. 5She saw the food at the king’s table. She saw his officials meeting together. She saw the servants in the palace and the good clothes they wore. She saw his parties and the sacrifices that he offered in the Lord’s Temple. She was so amazed, she could hardly breathe!
6Then she said to King Solomon, “The stories I heard in my country about your great works and your wisdom are true. 7I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Now I see that it is even greater than what I heard. Your wealth and wisdom are much greater than people told me. 8Your wives#10:8 wives This is from the ancient Greek version. The Hebrew text has “men.” and officers are very fortunate, because they serve you and hear your wisdom every day. 9Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. Because of the Lord’s unending love for Israel, he has made you king to rule with justice and fairness.”
10Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon 4 1/2 tons#10:10 4 1/2 tons Literally, “120 talents” (4140 kg). of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones. She gave him more spices than anyone has ever brought into Israel.
11Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir. They also brought jewels and a special kind of wood.#10:11 special … wood Literally, “almug.” No one knows exactly what type of wood this was, but it might have been sandalwood. 12Solomon used this special wood to build supports in the Temple and the palace as well as harps and lyres for the singers. That was the last time such a large shipment of that kind of wood was brought to Israel. There hasn’t been any seen around here since then.#10:12 since then Literally, “to this day,” that is, when the book of Kings was written.
13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. He gave her more than she brought to give him. Then the queen of Sheba and her servants left and went back to their own country.
Solomon’s Great Wealth
14Every year King Solomon received almost 25 tons#10:14 almost 25 tons Literally, “666 talents” (22,977 kg). of gold. 15In addition to the gold brought in by the traveling merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
16King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. He used about 15 pounds#10:16 about 15 pounds Literally, “600 shekels” (6.9 kg). Also in verse 29. of gold for each shield. 17He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold. He used almost 4 pounds#10:17 almost 4 pounds Literally, “3 minas” (1.7kg). of gold for each shield. The king put them in the Forest-of-Lebanon House.#10:17 Forest-of-Lebanon House The largest of king Solomon’s palace buildings. See 1 Kings 7:2-5.
18King Solomon also built a large throne with ivory decorations. It was covered with pure gold. 19There were six steps leading up to the throne. The back of the throne was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the throne, and there were lions in the sides of the throne under the armrests. 20There were also two lions on each of the six steps, one at each end. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.
21All of Solomon’s cups and glasses were made of gold, and all the dishes#10:21 dishes The Hebrew word can mean “dishes,” “tools,” or “weapons.” in the building called the Forest of Lebanon were made from pure gold. Nothing in the palace was made from silver. There was so much gold that in Solomon’s time people did not think silver was important.
22The king also had many cargo ships#10:22 cargo ships Literally, “ships of Tarshish.” that he sent out to trade things with other countries. These were Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ships would come back with a new load of gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons.
23King Solomon became greater in riches and wisdom than any other king on earth. 24People everywhere wanted to see King Solomon and listen to the great wisdom that God had given him. 25Every year people came to see the king and brought gifts made from gold and silver, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
26Solomon had a great number of chariots and horses. He had 1400 chariots and 12,000 horse soldiers. He built special cities for these chariots. So the chariots were kept in these cities. King Solomon also kept some of the chariots with him in Jerusalem. 27The king made Israel very rich. In the city of Jerusalem, silver was as common as rocks and cedar wood was as common as the many fig trees growing on the hills. 28Solomon brought horses from Egypt and Kue. His traders bought them in Kue and brought them to Israel. 29A chariot from Egypt cost about 15 pounds of silver, and a horse cost almost 4 pounds#10:29 almost 4 pounds Literally, “150 shekels” (1.725 kg). of silver. Solomon sold horses and chariots to the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International