2 Chronicles 9
1 The queen who ruled [the] Sheba [area in Arabia] heard that Solomon had become famous, so she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him questions that were difficult [to answer]. She came with a large group of servants, 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 things/topics in which she was interested.
Also, when the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem, with great riches and with camels which were carrying aromatics, and very much gold, and precious gems, so that she might test him with enigmas. And when she had approached Solomon, she spoke to him all that was in her heart.
2 Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her.
3 The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace,
And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
4 she saw the food that was served on his table [every day]; she saw 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 completely burned on the altar. She was extremely amazed.
indeed also the foods of his table, and the habitations of the servants, and the duties of his ministers, and their apparel, and also his cupbearers and their garments, and the victims which he was immolating in the house of the Lord, there was no longer any spirit in her, due to astonishment.
5 She said to the king, “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 word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom.
6 But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it myself. You are [extremely wise and rich, ] more than what people told me.
I did not believe those who described it, until I had arrived and my eyes had seen, and I had proven that not even half of your wisdom had been described to me. You have exceeded your fame with your virtue.
7 The men who work for you 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 your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom.
8 Praise Yahweh your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by appointing you to be the king of Israel for him. God has always loved the Israeli people, and desires to assist them forever, and therefore he has appointed you to be their king, in order that you will rule them fairly and righteously.”
Blessed is the Lord your God, who willed to set you upon his throne as a king for the Lord your God. Since God loves Israel, he wishes to preserve them unto eternity. For this reason, he appointed you as king over them, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.”
9 Then the queen gave to Solomon about 4-1/2 tons of gold and a large amount of spices and gems. Never had King Solomon received more spices than the queen gave him at that time.
Then she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great abundance of aromatics, and very precious gems. Never were there such aromatics as those that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
10 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave her more than she had given to him. Then she and those who came with her returned to her own land. [In the ships that belonged to King Hiram, ] Hiram’s workers and Solomon’s workers brought gold from Ophir. They also brought a large amount of juniper wood and gems. King Solomon [told his workers] to use that wood to make railings in the temple and in his palace and also to make harps and lyres for the musicians. That wood was the the finest wood that had ever been seen in Israel.
Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems.
And the king made, from this particular thyine wood, steps in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also harps and psalteries for the singing men. Never was there seen such wood in the land of Judah.
Then king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, and all that she requested, and much more than what she had brought to him. And returning, she went away to her own land with her servants.
13 Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
14 That was in addition to the [taxes] paid to him by the merchants and traders. Also, the kings of Arabia and the governors of [the districts in] Israel brought gold and silver to Solomon.
apart from the sum that the legates of various nations and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and apart from the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of the lands, were bringing together for Solomon.
15 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 7-1/2 pounds of gold on each shield.
And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear,
16 His [workers] made 300 [smaller] shields. They covered each of them with almost 4 pounds of gold. Then the king put those shields in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
and also three hundred gold shields, from three hundred gold pieces, which covered each shield. And the king placed them in the armory, which was situated in a forest.
17 His [workers] also made for him a large throne. [Part of] it was covered with [decorations made from] ivory and [part of it was covered] with very fine gold.
Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold.
18 There were six steps in front of the throne. There was a gold footstool that was attached to the throne. At each side of the throne there was an armrest, and alongside each armrest there was a [small statue of a] lion.
And there were six steps, by which he would ascend to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms, one on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms.
19 On the six steps there were twelve statues of lions, one on each side. No throne like that had ever existed in any other kingdom.
Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms.
20 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.
Also, all the vessels for the feasts of the king were of gold, and the vessels of the forest house of Lebanon were from the purest gold. For silver in those days was considered as nothing.
21 The king had a fleet 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 indeed, the ships of the king went to Tarshish, with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. And they brought from there gold, and silver, and ivory, and primates, and peacocks.
22 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.
And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory.
23 Kings from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said, things that God had enabled him to know.
And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart.
24 All the people who came to him brought presents: They brought things made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons, or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every year.
And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and 12,000 horses. Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots.
Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.
26 Solomon ruled over all the kings in the area from the [Euphrates] River [in the northeast] to the Philistia area [in the west] to the border of Egypt [in the south].
Now he also exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates as far as the land of the Philistines, and as far as the borders of Egypt.
27 [During the years that Solomon was] king, [he] caused silver to become as common in Jerusalem as stones; and he caused cedar trees in the foothills of Judah to become as plentiful as fig trees.
And he brought forth so much silver that it was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And cedar trees were as great in number as the sycamores that spring up in the plains.
28 Solomon’s agents brought horses from [the] Musri [area] and other places.
And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region.
29 Lists of all the other things that Solomon did are recorded in the scrolls written by the prophet Nathan and by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh [city], and in [the scroll in which were written] the visions that the prophet Iddo saw concerning [King] Jeroboam.
Now the rest of the works of Solomon, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah, the Shilonite, as well as in the vision of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.
30 Solomon ruled from Jerusalem all of Israel for 40 years.
And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years.
31 Then Solomon died and was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. And his son Rehoboam became the king.
And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place.
