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 the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart,
2 Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
and Solomon declareth to her all her matters, and there hath not been hid a thing from Solomon that he hath not declared to her.
3 The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace,
And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath 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 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, an his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been any more spirit in her.
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 saith unto the king, 'True [is] the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy 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.
and I have given no credence to their words, till that I have come, and mine eyes see, and lo, there hath not been declared to me the half of the abundance of thy wisdom — thou hast added unto the report that I heard.
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!
'O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants — these — who are standing before thee continually, and hearing 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.”
Let Jehovah thy God be blessed who hath delighted in thee, to put thee on His throne for king for Jehovah thy God; in the love of thy God to Israel, to establish it to the age, He hath put thee over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.'
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 giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there hath not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba hath given 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 also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.
And the king maketh the algum-trees staircases for the house of Jehovah, 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.
And king Solomon hath given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought unto the king, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants.
13 Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and 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 [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.
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 maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold, six hundred [shekels] of alloyed gold he causeth to go up on the one target;
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 shields of alloyed gold, three hundred [shekels] of gold he causeth to go up on the one shield, and the king putteth them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
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.
And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth 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 [are] to the throne, and a footstool of gold, to the throne they are fastened, and hands [are] on this [side] and on that on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands,
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.
and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this [side], and on that: it hath not been made so for 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 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;
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 ships of the king are going to Tarshish, with servants of Huram: once in three years come do the ships of Tarshish bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.
And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;
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 are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put 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 they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by 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.
And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king 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 is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border 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 the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that [are] in the low country, for abundance,
28 Solomon’s agents brought horses from [the] Musri [area] and other places.
and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.
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.
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?
30 Solomon ruled from Jerusalem all of Israel for 40 years.
And Solomon reigneth 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 Solomon lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.
