1 Kings 10

1 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.

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to test him with hard questions.

2 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.

She came to Jerusalem with a very long caravan, with camels loaded with spices, much gold, and many precious gemstones. When she arrived, she told Solomon all that was in her heart.

3 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.

Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing she asked that the king did not answer.

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

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

5 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.

the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the work of his servants and their clothing, also his cupbearers, and the manner in which he offered burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh, there was no more breath in her.

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

She said to the king, “It is true, the report that I heard in my own land of your words and your wisdom.

7 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.

I did not believe what I heard until I came here, and now my eyes have seen it. Not half was told me about your wisdom and wealth! You have exceeded the fame that I heard about.

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

How blessed are your wives, and how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you, because they hear your wisdom.

9 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.”

May Yahweh your God be praised, who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, he has made you king, for you to do justice and righteousness!”

10 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.

She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a large amount of spices and precious stones. No greater amount of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon was ever given to him again.

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

The fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a large amount of almug wood and precious stones.

12 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.

The king made almug wood pillars for the temple of Yahweh and for the king's palace, and harps and lyres for the singers. No such quantity of almug wood has ever come or been seen again to this day.

13 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.

King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything she wished for, whatever she asked, in addition to what Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she returned to her own land with her servants.

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

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,

15 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.

besides the gold that the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors in the country also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

16 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.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one.

17 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.

He also made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield; the king put them into the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

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

Then the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold.

19 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,

There were six steps to the throne, and the back of it had a rounded top. There were armrests on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.

20 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.

Twelve lions stood on the steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom.

21 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.

All King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the drinking cups in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were silver, because silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days.

22 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.

The king had at sea a fleet of oceangoing ships, along with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet brought gold, silver, and ivory, as well as apes and baboons.

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

So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.

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

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

25 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.

Those who visited brought tribute, vessels of silver and of gold, and clothes, armor, and spices, as well as horses and mules, year after year.

26 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.

Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen that he stationed in the chariot cities and with himself in Jerusalem.

27 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.

The king had silver in Jerusalem, as much as the stones on the ground. He made cedar wood to be as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that are in the lowlands.

28 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.

The horses that belonged to Solomon were imported from Egypt, and Kue and the king's merchants purchased them from Kue.

29 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.

Chariots were purchased out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver each, and horses for 150 shekels each. Many of these were then sold to all the kings of the Hittites and Aram.