1 Kings 10

1 Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions.

Now 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.

2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels weighted down with spices, and stores of gold and jewels: and when she came to Solomon she had talk with him of everything in her mind.

She 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.

3 And Solomon gave her answers to all her questions; there was no secret which the king did not make clear to her.

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

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

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

5 And 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 the burned offerings which he made in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

the 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.

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

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

7 But I had no faith in what was said about you, till I came and saw for myself; and now I see that it was not half the story; your wisdom and your wealth are much greater than they said.

But 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.

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

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

9 May the Lord your God be praised, whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; because the Lord's love for Israel is eternal, he has made you king, to be their judge in righteousness.

Blessed 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.”

10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a great store of spices and jewels: never again was such a wealth of spices seen as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

Then 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 And the sea-force of Hiram, in addition to gold from Ophir, came back with much sandal-wood and jewels.

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

12 And from the sandal-wood the king made pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, and instruments of music for the makers of melody: never has such sandal-wood been seen to this day.

The 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.)

13 And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she made request for, in addition to what he gave her freely from the impulse of his heart. So she went back to her country, she and her servants.

King 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.

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

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

15 In addition to what came to him from the business of the traders, and from all the kings of the Arabians, and from the rulers of the country.

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

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

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

17 And he made three hundred smaller body-covers of hammered gold, with three pounds of gold in every cover: and the king put them in the house of the Woods of Lebanon.

He 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.

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

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

19 There were six steps going up to it, and the top of it was round at the back, there were arms on the two sides of the seat, and two lions by the side of the arms;

The 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.

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

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

21 And all 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; not one was of silver, for no one gave a thought to silver in the days of King Solomon.

All 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.

22 For the king had Tarshish-ships at sea with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the Tarshish-ships came with gold and silver and ivory and monkeys and peacocks.

For 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.

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

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

24 And from all over the earth they came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

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

25 And 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 of transport, regularly year by year.

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

26 And Solomon got together war-carriages and horsemen; he had one thousand, four hundred carriages and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king at Jerusalem.

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

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

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

28 And Solomon's horses came from Egypt and from Kue; the king's traders got them at a price from Kue.

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

29 A war-carriage might be got from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; they got them at the same rate for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

A 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.