1 Kings 10
1 But also the queen of Saba, whanne the fame of Salomon was herd, cam in the name of the Lord to tempte hym in derk and douti questiouns.
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
2 And sche entride with myche felouschipe and richessis in to Jerusalem, and with camels berynge swete smellynge thingis, and gold greetli with out noumbre, and preciouse stoonys; and sche cam to king Salomon, and spak to hym alle thingis whiche sche hadde in hir herte.
She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.
3 And Salomon tauyte hir alle wordis whiche sche hadde put forth; no word was, that myyte be hid fro the kyng, and which he answeryde not to hir.
And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.
4 Forsothe the queen of Saba siy al the wisdom of Salomon, and the hows which he hadde bildid,
When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,
5 and the metis of his table, and the dwellyng places of hise seruauntis, and the ordris of mynystris, and the clothis of hem, and the boteleris, and the brent sacrifices whiche he offride in the hows of the Lord; and sche hadde no more spirite.
the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
6 And sche seide to the kyng, The word is trewe, which Y herde in my lond, of thi wordis, and of thi wisdom;
She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.
7 and Y bileuyde not to men tellynge to me, til Y my silf cam, and siy with myn iyen, and preuede that the half part was not teld to me; thi wisdom is more and thi werkis, than the tale which Y herde.
But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard.
8 Thi men ben blessid, and thi seruauntis ben blessid, these that stonden bifor thee euere, and heren thi wisdom.
How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
9 Blessid be thi Lord God, whom thou plesedist, and hath set thee on the trone of Israel; for the Lord louyde Israel with outen ende, and hath ordeynyd thee kyng, that thou schuldist do doom and riytfulnesse.
Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
10 Therfor sche yaf to the kyng sixe score talentis of gold, and ful many swete smellynge thingis, and precious stoonus; so many swete smellynge thingis weren no more brouyt, as tho which the queen of Saba yaf to kyng Salomon.
Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 But also the schip of Hiram, that brouyte gold fro Ophir, brouyte fro Ophir ful many trees of tyme, and preciouse stoonys.
(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.
12 And kyng Salomon made of the trees of tyme vndir settyngis of the hows of the Lord, and of the kyngis hows, and harpis, and sitols to syngeris; siche trees of tyme weren not brouyt nether seyn, til in to present dai.
The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen to this day.)
13 Sotheli kyng Salomon yaf to the queen of Saba alle thingis whiche sche wolde, and axide of hym, outakun these thingis whiche he hadde youe to hir bi the kyngis yifte wilfuli; and sche turnede ayen, and yede in to hir lond with hir seruauntis.
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.
14 Forsothe the weyte of gold, that was offrid to Salomon bi ech yeer, was of sixe hundrid and sixe and sixti talentis of gold,
The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,
15 outakun that which men that weren on the talagis, `that is, rentis for thingis borun aboute in the lond, and marchauntis, and alle men sillynge scheeldys, and alle the kyngis of Arabie, and dukis of erthe yauen.
not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.
16 And kyng Salomon made two hundrid scheeldis of pureste gold; he yaf sixe hundrid siclis of gold in to the platis of oo scheeld;
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
17 and he made thre hundrid of bokeleris of preued gold; thre hundrid talentis of gold clothiden o bokeler. And the kyng puttide tho in the hows of the forest of Lyban.
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 Also kyng Salomon made a greet trone of yuer, and clothide it with ful fyn gold;
Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
19 which trone hadde sixe grees; and the hiynesse of the trone was round in the hynderere part; and tweine hondis on this side and on that side, holdynge the seete, and twei lyouns stoden bisidis ech hond;
The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
20 and twelue litil liouns stondynge on sixe grees on this side and on that side; siche a werk was not maad in alle rewmes.
Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
21 But also alle the vessels, of which kyng Salomon drank, weren of gold, and alle the purtenaunce of the hows of the forest of Liban was of pureste gold; siluer was not, nether it was arettid of ony prijs in the daies of Salomon.
All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
22 For the schip of `the kyng wente onys bi thre yeer with the schip of Hiram in to Tharsis, and brouyte fro thennus gold, and siluer, and teeth of olifauntis, and apis, and pokokis.
For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23 Therfor kyng Salomon was magnified aboue alle kyngis of erthe in richessis and wisdom.
So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
24 And al erthe desiride to se the cheer of Salomon, to here the wisdom of him, which wisdom God hadde youe in his herte.
The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
25 And alle men brouyten yiftis to hym, vessels of gold, and of siluer, clothis, and armeris of batel, and swete smellynge thingis, and horsis, and mulis, bi ech yeer.
Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
26 And Salomon gaderide togidere charis, and knyytis; and a thousinde and foure hundrid charis weren maad to hym, and twelue thousynde `of knyytis; and he disposide hem bi strengthid citees, and with the kyng in Jerusalem.
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
27 And he made, that so greet aboundaunce of siluer was in Jerusalem, how greet was also of stoonys; and he yaf the multitude of cedris as sicomoris, that growen in feeldy places.
The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.
28 And the horsis of Salomon weren led out of Egipt, and of Coa; for the marchauntis of the kyng bouyten of Coa, and brouyten for prijs ordeyned.
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
29 Forsothe a chare yede out of Egipt for sixe hundrid siclis of siluer, and an hors for an hundrid and fifti siclis; and bi this maner alle the kyngis of Etheis and of Sirye seelden horsis.
A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
