I Kings 10

¹And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions.

²And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

³And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not.

⁴And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

⁵and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her.

⁶And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom.

⁷Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard.

⁸Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

⁹Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because Jehovah loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do justice and righteousness.

¹⁰And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

¹¹And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug-trees and precious stones.

¹²And the king made of the almug-trees pillars for the house of Jehovah, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for the singers: there came no such almug-trees, nor were seen, unto this day.

¹³And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides 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 threescore and six talents of gold,

¹⁵besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country.

¹⁶And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler.

¹⁷And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three 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 stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.

²⁰And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

²¹And 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 were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

²²For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

²³So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

²⁴And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

²⁵And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

²⁶And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

²⁷And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.

²⁸And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.

²⁹And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

I Kings 10

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

²She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

³And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.

⁴When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,

⁵the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

⁶She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.

⁷But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard.

⁸How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

⁹Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

¹⁰Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.

¹²The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen to this day.)

¹³King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.

¹⁴The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,

¹⁵not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

¹⁶King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

¹⁷He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.

¹⁹The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.

²⁰Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

²¹All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

²²For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²³So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²⁴The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.

²⁵Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁶Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

²⁷The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

²⁹A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.