2 Chronicles 9
1 And the queen of Sheba has heard of the fame of Solomon, and comes to Jerusalem to try Solomon with acute sayings, with a very great company, and camels carrying spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she comes to Solomon, and speaks with him all that has been with her heart,
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.
2 and Solomon declares all her matters to her, and there has not been hid a thing from Solomon that he has not declared to her.
And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him to explain.
3 And the queen of Sheba sees the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he has built,
When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,
4 and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his stewards, and their clothing, and his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of YHWH, and there has not been anymore 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.
5 And she says to the king, “The word [is] true that I heard in my land concerning your matters and concerning your wisdom,
She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.
6 and I have given no credence to their words until I have come and my eyes see, and behold, there has not been declared to me the half of the abundance of your wisdom—you have added to the report that I heard.
But I did not believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not half of the greatness of your wisdom was told to me. You have far exceeded the report I heard.
7 O the blessedness of your men, and the blessedness of your servants—these—who are standing before you continually, and hearing your wisdom.
How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
8 Let your God YHWH be blessed who has delighted in you to put you on His throne for king for your God YHWH; in the love of your God to Israel, to establish it for all time, He has put you over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.”
Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God. Because your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, He has made you king over them to carry out justice and righteousness.”
9 And she gives to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there has not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba has given to King Solomon.
Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.
(The servants of Hiram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.
11 And the king makes the algum-trees [into] staircases for the house of YHWH, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; and there have been none seen like these before in the land of Judah.
The king made the algum 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 anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.)
12 And King Solomon has given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought to the king, and she turns and goes to her land, she and her servants.
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—far more than she had brought the king. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.
13 And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,
14 apart from [what] the tourists and the merchants are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon.
not including the revenue from the merchants and traders. And all the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 And King Solomon makes two hundred bucklers of alloyed gold—he causes six hundred [shekels] of alloyed gold to go up on the one buckler;
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.
16 and three hundred shields of alloyed gold—he causes three hundred [shekels] of gold to go up on the one shield, and the king puts them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 And the king makes a great throne of ivory, and overlays it with pure gold;
Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 and six steps [are] to the throne, and a footstool of gold, [and] they are fastened to the throne; and [places for] hands [are] on this [side] and on that [side] on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands,
The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
19 and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this [side] and on that [side]: it has not been made so for 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.
20 And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon [are] of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon [are] of refined gold—silver is not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything;
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.
21 for ships of the king are going to Tarshish with servants of Huram: once in three years the ships of Tarshish come carrying gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks [[or monkeys]].
For the king had the ships of Tarshish that went with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 And King Solomon becomes greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;
So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God has put in his heart,
All the kings of the earth sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
24 and they are each bringing in his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
25 And there are four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen for Solomon, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem.
Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
26 And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
He reigned over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.
27 And the king makes the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he has made the cedars as sycamores that [are] in the low country, for abundance,
The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.
28 and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all the lands.
29 And the rest of the matters of Solomon, the first and the last, are they not written beside the matters of Nathan the prophet, and beside the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and with the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?
As for the rest of the acts of Solomon, from beginning to end, are they not written in the Records of Nathan the Prophet, in the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the Visions of Iddo the Seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?
30 And Solomon reigns in Jerusalem over all Israel [for] forty years,
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 and Solomon lies with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam reigns in his stead.
And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
