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 Queene of Sheba hearing ye fame of Salomon (concerning the Name of the Lord) came to proue 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 she came to Ierusalem with a verie great traine, and camels that bare sweete odours, and golde exceeding much, and precious stones: and shee came to Salomon, and communed with him of all that was in her heart.
3 Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
And Salomon declared vnto her all her questions: nothing was hid from the King, which he expounded not vnto her.
4 The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace;
Then the Queene of Sheba sawe all Salomons wisedome, and the house that 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 meate of his table, and the sitting of his seruants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and his drinking vessels, and his burnt offrings, that he offered in the house of the Lord, and she was greatly astonied.
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 shee sayde vnto the King, It was a true worde that I heard in mine owne lande of thy sayings, and of thy wisedome.
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.
Howebeit I beleeued not this report till I came, and had seene it with mine eyes: but lo, ye one halfe was not tolde mee: for thou hast more wisedome and prosperitie, then I haue heard by report.
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!
Happy are the men, happie are these thy seruants, which stande euer before thee, and heare thy wisedome.
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, which loued thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel, because the Lord loued Israel for euer and made thee King to doe equitie and righteousnesse.
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 gaue the King sixe score talents of golde, and of sweete odours exceeding much, and precious stones. There came no more such aboundance of sweete odours, as the Queene of Sheba gaue to King Salomon.
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 nauie also of Hiram (that caried gold from Ophir) brought likewise great plentie of Almuggim trees from Ophir 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 ye Almuggim trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for ye Kings palace, and made harpes and psalteries for singers. There came no more such Almuggim trees, nor were any more seene vnto 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 Salomon gaue vnto the Queene of Sheba, whatsoeuer she would aske, besides that, which Salomon gaue her of his kingly liberalitie: so she returned and went to her owne countrey, both shee, and her seruantes.
14 Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
Also the weight of golde, that came to Salomon in one yeere, was sixe hundreth three score and 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 he had of marchant men and of the marchandises of them that solde spices, and of all the Kinges of Arabia, and of the princes of the countrey.
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 King Salomon made two hundreth targets of beaten golde, sixe hundreth shekels of gold went to a target:
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 hundreth shieldes of beaten golde, three pound of gold went to one shielde: and the King put them in the house of the wood of Lebanon.
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.
Then the King made a great throne of yuorie, and couered it with the best golde.
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.
And the throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind, and there were stayes on either side on the place of the throne, and two lions standing by the stayes.
And there stoode twelue lions on the sixe steps on either side: there was not the like made in any kingdome.
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.
And all King Salomons drinking vessels were of golde, and all the vessels of the house of the woode of Lebanon were of pure golde, none were of siluer: for it was nothing esteemed in the dayes of Salomon.
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 had on the sea the nauie of Tharshish with the nauie of Hiram: once in three yere came the nauie of Tharshish, and brought golde and siluer, yuorie, and apes and peacockes.
23 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king.
So King Salomon exceeded all the kings of the earth both in riches and in wisedome.
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 al the world sought to see Salomon, to heare his wisedome, which God had put 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 they brought euery man his present, vessels of siluer, and vessels of golde, and raiment, and armour, and sweete odours, horses and mules, from yeere to yeere.
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.
Then Salomon gathered together charrets and horsemen: and he had a thousand and foure hundreth charets, and twelue thousande horsemen, whome hee placed in the charet cities, and with the King at Ierusalem.
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 the King gaue siluer in Ierusalem as stones, and gaue cedars as the wilde figtrees that growe abundantly in the plaine.
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].
Also Salomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and fine linen: the Kings marchants receiued the linen for a 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.
There came vp and went out of Egypt some charet, worth sixe hundreth shekels of siluer: that is, one horse, an hundreth and fiftie and thus they brought horses to all the Kings of the Hittites and to the Kings of Aram by their meanes.
