2 Chronicles 9
1 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,
The queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was, so she came to Jerusalem to test him with tough questions. 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.
2 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.
Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing he couldn't explain to her.
3 And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath built,
When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon's wisdom, and the palace he had built,
4 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.
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.
5 And she saith unto the king, 'True [is] the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy wisdom,
She told the king, “It's true what I heard in my own country about your proverbs and your wisdom!
6 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.
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!
7 'O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants — these — who are standing before thee continually, and hearing thy wisdom.
How happy your people must be! How happy those who work for you, who stand here every day listening to your wisdom!
8 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.'
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.”
9 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.
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.
10 And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.
(Hiram and of Solomon's men, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum wood and precious stones.
11 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.
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.)
12 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.
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all wanted, whatever she asked for. This was far more than she had brought the king. Then she and her attendants returned home to her own country.
13 And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold,
The weight of gold that Solomon received each year was 666 talents,
14 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.
not including that received from traders and merchants. All the kings of Arabia and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 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;
King Solomon made two hundred shields of hammered gold. Each shield required six hundred shekels of hammered gold.
16 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.
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold. Each of these shields required three hundred gold coins. The king placed them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold;
The king also made a great throne of ivory, and covered it with pure gold.
18 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,
The throne had six steps, with a golden footstool attached. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with lions standing beside the armrests.
19 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.
Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one on opposite ends of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
20 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;
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.
21 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.
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.
22 And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;
King Solomon was greater than any other king on earth in wealth and wisdom.
23 and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart,
All the kings of the earth wanted to meet Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had placed in his mind.
24 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.
Year after year, every visitor would bring gifts—articles of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
25 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.
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. He kept them in the chariot towns, and also with him in Jerusalem.
26 And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt.
He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border with Egypt.
27 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,
The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as sycamore-figs in the foothills.
28 and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.
Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from many other lands.
29 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?
The rest of the acts of Solomon, from start to finish, are written in the Records of Nathan the Prophet, in the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the Visions of Iddo the Seer about Jeroboam, son of Nebat.
30 And Solomon reigneth in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years,
Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all of Israel for forty years.
31 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.
Then Solomon died and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam took over as king.
