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,
When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She came with a very long caravan, with camels loaded with spices, much gold, and many precious gemstones. When she had come to Solomon, she told him all that was in her heart.
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 her all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon; there was no question that he did not answer.
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 that 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 his table, the seating of his servants, the work of his servants and their clothing, also his cupbearers and their clothing, and the burnt offerings he made at the house of Yahweh, and there was no more breath in her.
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 said to the king, “It is true, the report that I heard in my own land of your words 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.
I did not believe what I heard until I came here, and now my eyes have seen it. Not half was told me about your wisdom and wealth! You have exceeded the fame that I heard about.
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 blessed are your people, and how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you, because they hear 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.'
Blessed be Yahweh your God, who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God. Because your God loved Israel, in order to establish them forever, he had made you king over them, for you to do justice and righteousness!”
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 gave the king 120 talents of gold and a large amount of spices and precious stones. No greater amount of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon was ever given to him again.
10 And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.
The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, 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.
With the algum wood, the king made steps for the house of Yahweh and for his house, as well as harps and lyres for the musicians. No wood like this had 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 to the queen of Sheba everything she desired and whatever she asked for; he gave her more than what she had brought to the king. So she left and went back to her own land, she and her servants.
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,
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,
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.
besides the gold that the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors in the country 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 large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one.
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 shields of beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield; the king put them into the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold;
Then the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest 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,
There were six steps to the throne, and a footstool was attached to the throne. On each side of the throne there were armrests with two lions standing beside each of them.
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 steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other 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 King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the drinking cups in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were silver because silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days.
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 at sea a fleet of oceangoing ships, along with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet brought gold, silver, and ivory, as well as apes and baboons.
22 And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;
So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the world in riches and in 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 sought the presence of Solomon in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
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.
Those who visited brought tribute, vessels of silver and of gold, clothes, armor, and spices, as well as horses and mules, year after year.
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, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with himself 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 of 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 had silver in Jerusalem, as much as the stones on the ground. He made cedar wood to be as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that are in the lowlands.
28 and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.
They brought horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the 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?
As for the other matters concerning Solomon, first and last, are they not written in The History of Nathan the Prophet, in The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in The Visions of Iddo the Seer (which also had information about Jeroboam son of Nebat)?
30 And Solomon reigneth in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years,
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all 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.
He slept with his ancestors and the people buried him in the city of David his father. Rehoboam, his son, became king in his place.
