Kings III 10

1 And the queen of Saba heard of the name of Solomon, and the name of the Lord, and she came to try him with riddles.

Then, too, the queen of Sheba, having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, arrived to test him with enigmas.

2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train; and [there came] camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and she came in to Solomon, and told him all that was in her heart.

And entering into Jerusalem with a great retinue, and with riches, and with camels carrying aromatics, and with an exceedingly great quantity of gold and precious stones, she went to king Solomon. And she spoke to him all that she held in her heart.

3 And Solomon answered all her questions: and there was not a question overlooked by the king which he did not answer her.

And Solomon taught her, in all the words that she had proposed to him. There was not any word which was able to be hidden from the king, or which he did not answer for her.

4 And the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he built,

Then, when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

5 and the provision of Solomon and the sitting of his attendants, and the standing of his servants, and his raiment, and his cup-bearers, and his whole-burnt-offering which he offered in the house of the Lord, and she was utterly amazed.

and the food of his table, and the dwelling places of his servants, and the rows of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts that he was offering in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her.

6 And she said to king Solomon, [It was] a true report which I heard in my land of thy words and thy wisdom.

And she said to the king: “The word is true, which I have heard in my own land,

7 But I believed not them that told me, until I came and my eyes saw: and, behold, the words as they reported to me are not the half: thou hast exceeded in goodness all the report which I heard in my land.

about your words and your wisdom. But I did not believe those who explained it to me, until I went myself and saw it with my own eyes. And I have discovered that the half of it has not been told to me: your wisdom and works are greater than the report that I have heard.

8 Blessed [are] thy wives, blessed [are] these thy servants who stand before thee continually, who hear all thy wisdom.

Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you always, and who hear your wisdom.

9 Blessed be the Lord thy God, who has taken pleasure in thee, to set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord loved Israel to establish [him] for ever; and he has made thee king over them, to execute judgment with justice, and in their causes.

Blessed is the Lord your God, whom you have greatly pleased, and who has placed you upon the throne of Israel. For the Lord loves Israel forever, and he has appointed you as king, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.”

10 And she gave to Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and very many spices, and precious stones: there had not come any other spices so abundant as those which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.

Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great amount of aromatics and precious stones. No greater quantity of aromatics was ever again brought forth as these, which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11 And the ship of Chiram which brought the gold from Suphir, brought very much hewn timber and precious stones.

Then, too, the navy of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought an exceedingly great quantity of thyine wood and precious stones from Ophir.

12 And the king made the hewn timber [into] buttresses of the house of the Lord and the king's house, and lyres and harps for singers: such hewn timber had not come upon the earth, nor have been seen anywhere until this day.

And the king made, from the thyine wood, the posts of the house of the Lord, and of the house of the king, and citharas and lyres for the musicians. No thyine trees of this kind were ever again brought forth or seen, even to the present day.

13 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she desired, whatsoever she asked, besides all that he had given her by the hand of king Solomon: and she returned, and came into her own land, she and her servants.

Then king Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all that she desired and requested of him, aside from what he himself had offered to her from his royal bounty. And she returned and went away to her own land, with her servants.

14 And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold.

Now the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon each year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,

15 Besides the tributes of them that were subjects, both merchants and all the kings of the [country] beyond [the river], and of the princess of the land.

aside from what was brought to him by the men who were over the tributes, and by the merchants, and by those selling every kind of small item, and by all the kings of Arabia, and by the rulers of the land.

16 And Solomon made three hundred spears of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold were upon one spear.

Also, king Solomon made two hundred large shields from the purest gold. He dispensed six hundred shekels of gold for the layers of one shield.

17 And three hundred shields of beaten gold: and three pounds of gold were in one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

And for the three hundred crescent-shaped shields of tested gold, there were three hundred minas of gold covering one shield. And the king placed these in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

18 And the king made a great ivory throne, and gilded it with pure gold.

Also, king Solomon made a great throne from ivory. And he clothed it with a great quantity of red gold.

19 The throne [had] six steps, and calves in bold relief to the throne behind it, and side-pieces on either hand of the place of the seat, and two lions standing by the side-pieces,

The throne had six steps, and the summit of the throne was rounded in the back section. And there were two hands, on one side and the other, holding the seat. And two lions were standing beside each hand,

20 and twelve lions standing there on the six steps on either side: it was not so done in any [other] kingdom.

with twelve little lions standing upon the six steps, on one side and the other. No similar work has been made, ever in any kingdom.

21 And all the vessels made by Solomon [were] of gold, and the lavers [were] golden, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; there was no silver, for it was not accounted of in the days of Solomon.

Moreover, all the vessels from which king Solomon would drink were of gold. And all the items in the house of the forest of Lebanon were of the purest gold. There was no silver, nor was any accounting made of silver in the days of Solomon.

22 For Solomon had a ship of Tharsis in the sea with the ships of Chiram: one ship came to the king every three years out of Tharsis, [laden with] gold and silver, and wrought stones, and hewn stones.

For the navy of the king, once every three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tarshish, bringing from there gold, and silver, and elephant tusks, and primates, and peacocks.

23 And Solomon increased beyond all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.

And so, king Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

24 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which the Lord [had] put into his heart.

And all the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, so as to hear his wisdom, which God had granted to his heart.

25 And they brought every one their gifts, vessels of gold, and raiment, and stacte, and spices, and horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

And each one brought him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, clothing and weapons of war, as well as aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.

26 And Solomon had four thousand mares for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he put them in the cities of his chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem: and he ruled over all the kings from the river to the land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt.

And Solomon gathered together the chariots and horsemen. And he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And he placed them in the walled cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 And the king made gold and silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as the sycamores in the plain for multitude.

And he caused silver to be as abundant in Jerusalem as stones, and he supplied a multitude of cedars like the sycamores that grow in the plains.

28 And the goings forth of Solomon's horsemen [was] also out of Egypt, and the king's merchants [were] of Thecue; and they received them out of Thecue at a price.

And horses were brought for Solomon from Egypt and from Kue. For the merchants of the king were buying these from Kue. And they paid out the established price.

29 And that which proceeded out of Egypt went up [thus, even] a chariot for a hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for fifty [shekels] of silver: and thus for all the kings of the Chettians, and the kings of Syria, they came out by sea.

Now a four-horse chariot would be sent from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty. And in this manner, all the kings of the Hittites and of Syria were selling horses.