2 Chronicles 9
1 Now 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.
Also, when the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem, with great riches and with camels which were carrying aromatics, and very much gold, and precious gems, so that she might test him with enigmas. And when she had approached Solomon, she spoke to him all that was in her heart.
2 And Solomon gave her answers to all her questions; there was no secret which he did not make clear to her.
And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her.
3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had made,
And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
4 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 their robes, and the burned offerings which he made in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
indeed also the foods of his table, and the habitations of the servants, and the duties of his ministers, and their apparel, and also his cupbearers and their garments, and the victims which he was immolating in the house of the Lord, there was no longer any spirit in her, due to astonishment.
5 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 word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom.
6 But 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.
I did not believe those who described it, until I had arrived and my eyes had seen, and I had proven that not even half of your wisdom had been described to me. You have exceeded your fame with your virtue.
7 Happy are your wives and happy these your servants whose place is ever before you, hearing your words of wisdom.
Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom.
8 Praise 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.
Blessed is the Lord your God, who willed to set you upon his throne as a king for the Lord your God. Since God loves Israel, he wishes to preserve them unto eternity. For this reason, he appointed you as king over them, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.”
9 And 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.
Then she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great abundance of aromatics, and very precious gems. Never were there such aromatics as those that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
10 And the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, in addition to gold from Ophir, came back with sandal-wood and jewels.
Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems.
11 And 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.
And the king made, from this particular thyine wood, steps in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also harps and psalteries for the singing men. Never was there seen such wood in the land of Judah.
12 And 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.
Then king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, and all that she requested, and much more than what she had brought to him. And returning, she went away to her own land with her servants.
13 Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents;
Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
14 And 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.
apart from the sum that the legates of various nations and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and apart from the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of the lands, were bringing together for Solomon.
15 And King Solomon made two hundred body-covers of hammered gold, every one having six hundred shekels of gold in it.
And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear,
16 And 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.
and also three hundred gold shields, from three hundred gold pieces, which covered each shield. And the king placed them in the armory, which was situated in a forest.
17 Then the king made a great ivory seat, plated with the best gold.
Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold.
18 There 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.
And there were six steps, by which he would ascend to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms, one on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms.
19 And twelve lions were placed on one side and on the other side on the six steps: there was nothing like it in any kingdom.
Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms.
20 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: no one gave a thought to silver in the days of Solomon.
Also, all the vessels for the feasts of the king were of gold, and the vessels of the forest house of Lebanon were from the purest gold. For silver in those days was considered as nothing.
21 For 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.
For indeed, the ships of the king went to Tarshish, with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. And they brought from there gold, and silver, and ivory, and primates, and peacocks.
22 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.
And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory.
23 And all the kings of the earth came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put into his heart.
And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart.
24 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 for transport, regularly year by year.
And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.
25 Solomon 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.
Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.
26 And he was ruler over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the limit of Egypt.
Now he also exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates as far as the land of the Philistines, and as far as the borders of Egypt.
27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedars like the sycamore-trees of the lowlands in number.
And he brought forth so much silver that it was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And cedar trees were as great in number as the sycamores that spring up in the plains.
28 They got horses for Solomon from Egypt and from every land.
And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region.
29 Now 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?
Now the rest of the works of Solomon, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah, the Shilonite, as well as in the vision of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.
30 Solomon was king over Israel in Jerusalem for forty years.
And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years.
31 And 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.
And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place.
