1 Kings 10
10
1When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. 2She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. 3Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her. 4When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house, there was no more spirit in her. 6She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. 7However, I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. 8Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. 9Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 10She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was there such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees#10:11 possibly an Indian sandalwood, with nice grain and a pleasant scent, and good for woodworking and precious stones. 12The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen to this day.
13King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.
14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents#10:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons of gold, 15in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. 16King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels#10:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels is about 6 kilograms or 13.2 pounds or 192 Troy ounces. of gold went to one buckler. 17He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas#10:17 A mina is about 600 grams or 1.3 U. S. pounds. of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom. 21All 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 were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. 22For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules.
26Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He kept them in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. 29A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels#10:29 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces. of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.
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1 Kings 10
10
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba
(2 Chr 9.1–12)
1 #
Mt 12.42; Lk 11.31 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame,#10.1 Probable text (see 2 Chr 9.1) Solomon's fame; Hebrew Solomon's fame concerning the name of the LORD. and she travelled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. 2She brought with her a large group of attendants, as well as camels loaded with spices, jewels, and a large amount of gold. When she and Solomon met, she asked him all the questions that she could think of. 3He answered them all; there was nothing too difficult for him to explain. 4The queen of Sheba heard Solomon's wisdom and saw the palace he had built. 5She saw the food that was served at his table, the living quarters for his officials, the organization of his palace staff and the uniforms they wore, the servants who waited on him at feasts, and the sacrifices he offered in the Temple. It left her breathless and amazed. 6She said to King Solomon, “What I heard in my own country about you#10.6 you; or your deeds. and your wisdom is true! 7But I couldn't believe it until I had come and seen it all for myself. But I didn't hear even half of it; your wisdom and wealth are much greater than what I was told. 8How fortunate are your wives!#10.8 Some ancient translations wives; Hebrew men. And how fortunate your servants, who are always in your presence and are privileged to hear your wise sayings! 9Praise the LORD your God! He has shown how pleased he is with you by making you king of Israel. Because his love for Israel is eternal, he has made you their king so that you can maintain law and justice.”
10She presented to King Solomon the gifts she had brought: more than four tonnes of gold and a very large amount of spices and jewels. The amount of spices she gave him was by far the greatest that he ever received at any time.
11(Hiram's fleet, which had brought gold from Ophir, also brought from there a large amount of juniper wood and jewels. 12Solomon used the wood to build railings in the Temple and the palace, and also to make harps and lyres for the musicians. It was the finest juniper wood ever imported into Israel; none like it has ever been seen again.)
13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for, besides all the other customary gifts that he had generously given her. Then she and her attendants returned to the land of Sheba.
King Solomon's Wealth
(2 Chr 9.13–28)
14Every year King Solomon received almost 23 tonnes of gold 15in addition to the taxes#10.15 Some ancient translations taxes; Hebrew men. paid by merchants, the profits from trade, and tribute paid by the Arabian kings and the governors of the Israelite districts.
16Solomon made 200 large shields, and had each one overlaid with almost seven kilogrammes of gold. 17He also made 300 smaller shields, overlaying each one of them with almost two kilogrammes of gold. He had all these shields placed in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.#10.17 Hall of the Forest of Lebanon: See 7.2–3.
18He also had a large throne made. Part of it was covered with ivory and the rest of it was covered with the finest gold. 19-20The throne had six steps leading up to it, with the figure of a lion at each end of every step, a total of twelve lions. At the back of the throne was the figure of a bull's head, and beside each of the two arms was the figure of a lion. No throne like this had ever existed in any other kingdom.
21All of Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and all the utensils in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. No silver was used, since it was not considered valuable in Solomon's day. 22He had a fleet of ocean-going ships sailing with Hiram's fleet. Every three years his fleet would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
23King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king, 24and the whole world wanted to come and listen to the wisdom that God had given him. 25Everyone who came brought him a gift — articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This continued year after year.
26 #
1 Kgs 4.26
Solomon built up a force of 1,400 chariots and 12,000 cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem and the rest he stationed in various other cities. 27During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycomore in the foothills of Judah. 28#Deut 17.16The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri#10.28 Probable text Musri; Hebrew Egypt. and Cilicia,#10.28 Musri and Cilicia: Two ancient countries in what is now south-east Turkey, which were centres of horse breeding in Solomon's time. 29and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.