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.
And when the queen of Saba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with great riches, and camels, which carried spices, and abundance of gold, and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she proposed 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 to her all that she proposed: and there was not any thing that he did not make clear unto her.
3 The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace,
And when she had seen these things, to wit, 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.
And the meats of his table, and the dwelling places of his servants, and the attendance of his officers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their garments, and the victims which he offered in the house of the Lord: there was no more spirit in her, she was so astonished.
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 heard in my country of thy 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 them that told it, until I came, and my eyes had seen, and I had proved that scarce one half of thy wisdom had been told me: thou hast exceeded the same with thy virtues.
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!
Happy are thy men, and happy are thy servants, who stand always before thee, and hear thy 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 be the Lord thy God, who hath been pleased to set thee on his throne, king of the Lord thy God. Because God loveth Israel, and will preserve them for ever: therefore hath he made thee king over them, to do 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.
And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and most precious stones: there were no such spices as these which the queen of Saba 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.
And the servants also of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and thyine trees, and most precious stones:
And the king made of the thyine trees stairs in the house of the Lord, and in the king’s house, and harps and psalteries for the singing men: never were there seen such trees in the land of Juda.
And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she desired, and that she asked, and many more things than she brought to him: so she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.
13 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:
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.
Beside the sum which the deputies of divers nations, and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and all the kings of Arabia, and the lords of the lands, who I brought gold and silver to 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 king Solomon made two hundred golden spears, of the sum of six hundred pieces of gold, which went to every 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 three hundred golden shields of three hundred pieces of gold, which went to the covering of every shield: and the king put them in the armoury, which was compassed with a wood.
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.
The king also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure 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 six steps to go up to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms one on either side, and two lions standing by 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 twelve other little lions standing upon the steps on both sides: there was not such a throne in any kingdom.
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.
And all the vessels of the king’s table were of gold, and the vessels of the house of the forest of Libanus were of the purest gold. For no account was made of silver in those days.
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 the king’s ships went to Tharsis with the servants of Hiram, once in three years: and they brought thence gold and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
22 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.
And Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth for riches 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 earth desired to see the face of Solomon, that they might hear the wisdom which God had given in 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 every year they brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules.
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.
And Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots, and horsemen, and he placed them in 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].
And he exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to 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 made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars as common as the sycamores, which grow in the plains.
28 Solomon’s agents brought horses from [the] Musri [area] and other places.
And horses were brought to him out of Egypt, and out of all countries.
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 acts of Solomon first and last are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the boobs of Ahias the Silonite, and in the vision of Addo 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 Israel 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 Roboam his son reigned in his stead.
