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.
The queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was, so she came to Jerusalem to test him with tough 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 brought with her a very large entourage, with camels loaded with spices, large amounts of gold, and precious gemstones. She came to Solomon and asked him about everything she had 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.
Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing he couldn't explain to her.
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 Solomon's wisdom, and 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 on the table, how his officials lived, how his servants operated and how they were dressed, the clothes of the waiters, and the burnt offerings he presented at the Lord's Temple, she was so astonished she could hardly breathe.
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 told the king, “It's true what I heard in my own country about your proverbs and your wisdom!
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 didn't believe what they told me until I came and saw with my own eyes. In fact, I wasn't told the half of it—the extent of your wisdom far exceeds what I heard!
8 Thi men ben blessid, and thi seruauntis ben blessid, these that stonden bifor thee euere, and heren thi wisdom.
How happy your people must be! How happy those who work for you, who stand here every day listening to 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.
Praise the Lord your God who is so pleased with you, who placed you on his throne as king to rule on his behalf. Because of the love of your God for Israel he has made them secure forever, and he has made you king over them to do what is fair and right.”
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.
She presented the king with one hundred and twenty talents of gold, huge amounts of spices and precious stones. Never before had there been spices like 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.
(Hiram's fleet of ships brought gold from Ophir, and also carried algum 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 used the algum wood to make steps for the Temple and for the royal palace, and into lyres and harps for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen before in the land of Judah.)
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 wanted, whatever she asked for. This was in addition to the usual gifts he had generously given her. Then she and her attendants returned home to her own country.
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 Solomon received 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 that received from traders and merchants, and all the kings of Arabia 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 shields of hammered gold. Each shield required six hundred shekels of hammered gold.
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. Each of these shields required three gold minas. The king placed them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 Also kyng Salomon made a greet trone of yuer, and clothide it with ful fyn gold;
The king also made a great throne of ivory, and covered 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, with a rounded top at the back. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with lions standing beside the armrests.
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 on opposite ends 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 of King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. No silver was used, because it was not valued 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.
The king had a fleet of ships from Tarshish crewed by Hiram's sailors. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive with a cargo of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23 Therfor kyng Salomon was magnified aboue alle kyngis of erthe in richessis and wisdom.
King Solomon was greater than any other king on earth in wealth 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 wanted to meet Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had placed in his mind.
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, every visitor would bring gifts—articles of silver and gold, clothes, 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 horsemen. He kept them in the chariot towns, 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 plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as sycamore-figs 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 in 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 imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the Hittite kings, and to the Aramean kings.
