1 Kings 10
1 The queen [who ruled the] Sheba [area] heard that Yahweh had caused Solomon to become famous, so she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him questions that were difficult [to answer].
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 She came with a large group of wealthy/influential people, and she brought camels that were loaded with spices, and valuable gems, and a lot of gold. When she met Solomon, she asked him questions about all the topics/things in which she was interested.
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 Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
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 The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace;
And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
5 she saw the food that was served on his table [every day]; she saw where his officials lived (OR, how his officials were seated at the table), their uniforms, the servants who served the food and wine, and the sacrifices that he took to the temple to be offered. She was extremely amazed.
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 She said to King Solomon, “Everything that I heard in my own country about you and about how wise you are is true!
And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country,
7 But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it myself. But really, what they told me is only half [of what they could have told me about you]. You are extremely wise and rich, more than what people told me.
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 Your wives are very fortunate! Your officials who are constantly standing in front of you and listening to the wise things that you say are also fortunate!
Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom.
9 Praise Yahweh, your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by causing you to become the king of Israel! God has always loved the Israeli people, and therefore he has appointed you to be their king, in order that you will rule them fairly and righteously.”
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 Then the queen gave to the king [the things that she had brought. She gave him] almost five tons of gold and a large amount of spices and valuable gems. Never again did King Solomon receive more spices than the queen gave him at that time.
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 In the ships that belonged to King Hiram, in which they had previously brought gold from Ophir, they also brought a large amount of juniper wood and gems/valuable stones.
(The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones.
12 King Solomon told his workers to use that wood to make railings/supports in the temple of Yahweh and in the king’s palace and also to make harps and lyres for the (musicians/men who played musical instruments). That wood was the largest amount of (OR, the finest) wood that had ever been seen [in Israel]. And no one since then has ever seen so much wood of that kind.
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 King Solomon gave to the queen from Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave her those gifts in addition to the gifts that he always gave [to other rulers who visited him]. Then she and the people who came with her returned to her own land.
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 Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:
15 That was in addition to [the taxes] paid to him by the merchants and traders, and the annual taxes paid by the kings of Arabia and by the governors of [the regions in] Israel.
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 King Solomon’s workers [took this] gold and hammered it into thin sheets and covered 200 large shields with those thin sheets of gold; they put (almost 15 pounds/more than 6 kg.) of gold on each shield.
And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sides of gold for the plates of one shield.
17 His workers made 300 smaller shields. They covered each of them with (almost 4 pounds/1.5 kg.) of gold. Then the king put those shields in the Hall of the Forest 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 His workers also made for him a large throne. [Part of it was] covered with (ivory [decorations made from)] tusks of elephants and [part of it was covered] with very fine gold.
King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.
19 There were six steps in front of the throne. There was a statue of a lion on both sides of each step. So altogether there were twelve statues of lions. The back of the throne was rounded at the top. At each side of the throne there was an armrest, and alongside each armrest there was a small statue of a lion. No throne like that had ever existed in any other kingdom.
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.
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 All of Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the various dishes in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were made of gold. They did not make things from silver, because during the years that Solomon [ruled], silver was not considered to be valuable.
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 The king had a (fleet/large number) of ships that sailed with the ships that King Hiram owned. Every three years the ships returned [from the places to which they had sailed], bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and baboons (OR, 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 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king.
And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches, and wisdom.
24 People from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said, things that God had put into his mind.
And all the earth desired to see Solomon’s face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart.
25 All the people who came to him brought presents: They brought things made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons (OR, myrrh), or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every 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 Solomon acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men who rode [on the horses] (OR, [in the chariots]). Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots.
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 During the years that Solomon was king, silver became as common in Jerusalem as stones; and [lumber from] cedar trees in the foothills of Judah was as plentiful as [lumber from] fig trees.
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 Solomon’s agents bought horses and supervised the men who brought them into Israel from the areas of Musri and Cilicia [that were famous for breeding horses].
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 In Musri they bought chariots and horses; they paid 600 pieces of silver for each chariot and 150 pieces of silver for each horse. They brought them to Israel. Then they sold many of them to the kings of the Heth people-group and the kings of Syria.
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.
