II Chronicles 9

¹Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to Jerusalem to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions; and with her came a very great train, and camels weighted down with spices, and great stores of gold and jewels: and when she came to Solomon she had talk with him of everything in her mind.

²And Solomon gave her answers to all her questions; there was no secret which he did not make clear to her.

³And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had made,

⁴And the food at his table, and all his servants seated there, and those who were waiting on him in their places, and their robes, and his wine-servants and their robes, and the burned offerings which he made in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

⁵And she said to the king, The account which was given to me in my country of your acts and your wisdom was true.

⁶But I had no faith in what was said about you, till I came and saw for myself; and truly, word was not given me of half your great wisdom; you are much greater than they said.

⁷Happy are your wives and happy these your servants whose place is ever before you, hearing your words of wisdom.

⁸Praise be to the Lord your God whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of his kingdom to be king for the Lord your God: because, in his love for Israel, it was the purpose of your God to make them strong for ever, he made you king over them, to be their judge in righteousness.

⁹And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a great store of spices and jewels: never had such spices been seen as the queen of Sheba gave to Solomon.

¹⁰And the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, in addition to gold from Ophir, came back with sandal-wood and jewels.

¹¹And with the sandal-wood the king made steps for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, and instruments of music for the makers of melody; never before had such been seen in the land of Judah.

¹²And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she made request for, in addition to what she had taken to the king. So she went back to her country with her servants.

¹³Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents;

¹⁴And in addition to what he got from traders of different sorts, all the kings of Arabia and the rulers of the country gave gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵And King Solomon made two hundred body-covers of hammered gold, every one having six hundred shekels of gold in it.

¹⁶And he made three hundred smaller body-covers of hammered gold, using three hundred shekels of gold for every cover, and the king put them in the house of the Woods of Lebanon.

¹⁷Then the king made a great ivory seat, plated with the best gold.

¹⁸There were six steps up to it, and a foot-rest of gold fixed to it, and arms on the two sides of the seat, with two lions at the side of the arms.

¹⁹And twelve lions were placed on one side and on the other side on the six steps: there was nothing like it in any kingdom.

²⁰All King Solomon's drinking-vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the Woods of Lebanon were of the best gold: no one gave a thought to silver in the days of Solomon.

²¹For the king had Tarshish-ships sailing with the servants of Huram: once every three years the Tarshish-ships came back with gold and silver, ivory and monkeys and peacocks.

²²And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.

²³And all the kings of the earth came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put into his heart.

²⁴And everyone took with him an offering, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and robes, and coats of metal, and spices, and horses and beasts for transport, regularly year by year.

²⁵Solomon had four thousand buildings for his horses and his war-carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king in Jerusalem.

²⁶And he was ruler over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the limit of Egypt.

²⁷The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedars like the sycamore-trees of the lowlands in number.

²⁸They got horses for Solomon from Egypt and from every land.

²⁹Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not recorded in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the words of Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer about Jeroboam, the son of Nebat?

³⁰Solomon was king over Israel in Jerusalem for forty years.

³¹And Solomon went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David his father; and Rehoboam his son became king in his place.

II Chronicles 9

¹When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was in her heart.

²Solomon told her all her questions; and there was not anything hidden from Solomon which he did not tell her.

³When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

⁴and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their clothing, his cup bearers also, and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.

⁵She said to the king, "It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom.

⁶However I did not believe their words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it; and behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me: you exceed the fame that I heard.

⁷Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, and hear your wisdom.

⁸Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, to set you on his throne, to be king for the Lord your God: because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore made he you king over them, to do justice and righteousness."

⁹She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

¹⁰The servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

¹¹The king made of the algum trees terraces for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, and harps and stringed instruments for the singers: and there were none like these seen before in the land of Judah.

¹²King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.

¹³Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

¹⁴besides that which the traders and merchants brought: and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one buckler.

¹⁶He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

¹⁸And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.

¹⁹Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom.

²⁰All king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

²¹For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

²²So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²³All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

²⁴They brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

²⁵Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he stationed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

²⁶He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

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

²⁸They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

²⁹Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, aren't they written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

³⁰Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

³¹Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.