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.

And the queen of Saba, having; heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard 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.

And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart.

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 informed her of all the things she proposed to him: there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not answer her.

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

And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which 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.

And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord: she had no longer any spirit in her,

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.

And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country,

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.

Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy works, exceed the fame which I heard.

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

Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy 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 thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.

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.

And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba 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 navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, 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.

And the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king’s house, and citterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine trees as these brought, nor seen unto 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.

And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered he himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.

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

And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:

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.

Besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.

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

And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sides of gold for the plates of one 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.

And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus.

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

King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest 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;

It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand.

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.

And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in 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.

Moreover all the vessels, out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it 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’s navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants’ teeth, and apes, and peacocks.

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

And king Solomon exceeded 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.

And all the earth desired to see Solomon’s face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given 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.

And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments and armour, and spices, and horses and mules every year.

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.

And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horseman: and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king 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.

And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains.

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

And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king’s merchants brought them out of Coa, and bought them at a set price.

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.

And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sides of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.