Βασιλειῶν Γʹ 10
1 καὶ βασίλισσα Σαβα ἤκουσεν τὸ ὄνομα Σαλωμων καὶ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου καὶ ἦλθεν πειράσαι αὐτὸν ἐν αἰνίγμασιν
The queen [who ruled the] Sheba [area] heard that Yahweh had caused Solomon to become famous, so she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him questions that were difficult [to answer].
2 καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Ιερουσαλημ ἐν δυνάμει βαρείᾳ σφόδρα καὶ κάμηλοι αἴρουσαι ἡδύσματα καὶ χρυσὸν πολὺν σφόδρα καὶ λίθον τίμιον καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πρὸς Σαλωμων καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα ἦν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς
She came with a large group of wealthy/influential people, 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 topics/things in which she was interested.
3 καὶ ἀπήγγειλεν αὐτῇ Σαλωμων πάντας τοὺς λόγους αὐτῆς οὐκ ἦν λόγος παρεωραμένος παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ὃν οὐκ ἀπήγγειλεν αὐτῇ
Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.
4 καὶ εἶδεν βασίλισσα Σαβα πᾶσαν φρόνησιν Σαλωμων καὶ τὸν οἶκον ὃν ᾠκοδόμησεν
The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace;
5 καὶ τὰ βρώματα Σαλωμων καὶ τὴν καθέδραν παίδων αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν στάσιν λειτουργῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς οἰνοχόους αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ὁλοκαύτωσιν αὐτοῦ ἣν ἀνέφερεν ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου καὶ ἐξ ἑαυτῆς ἐγένετο
she saw the food that was served on his table [every day]; she saw where his officials lived (OR, 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 offered. She was extremely amazed.
6 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Σαλωμων ἀληθινὸς ὁ λόγος ὃν ἤκουσα ἐν τῇ γῇ μου περὶ τοῦ λόγου σου καὶ περὶ τῆς φρονήσεώς σου
She said to King Solomon, “Everything that I heard in my own country about you and about how wise you are is true!
7 καὶ οὐκ ἐπίστευσα τοῖς λαλοῦσίν μοι ἕως ὅτου παρεγενόμην καὶ ἑωράκασιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἔστιν τὸ ἥμισυ καθὼς ἀπήγγειλάν μοι προστέθεικας ἀγαθὰ πρὸς αὐτὰ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀκοήν ἣν ἤκουσα ἐν τῇ γῇ μου
But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it myself. But really, what they told me is only half [of what they could have told me about you]. You are extremely wise and rich, more than what people told me.
8 μακάριαι αἱ γυναῖκές σου μακάριοι οἱ παῖδές σου οὗτοι οἱ παρεστηκότες ἐνώπιόν σου δῑ ὅλου οἱ ἀκούοντες πᾶσαν τὴν φρόνησίν σου
Your wives 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!
9 γένοιτο κύριος ὁ θεός σου εὐλογημένος ὃς ἠθέλησεν ἐν σοὶ δοῦναί σε ἐπὶ θρόνου Ισραηλ διὰ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν κύριον τὸν Ισραηλ στῆσαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ ἔθετό σε βασιλέα ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς τοῦ ποιεῖν κρίμα ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἐν κρίμασιν αὐτῶν
Praise Yahweh, your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by causing you to become the king of Israel! God has always loved the Israeli people, and therefore he has appointed you to be their king, in order that you will rule them fairly and righteously.”
10 καὶ ἔδωκεν τῷ Σαλωμων ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι τάλαντα χρυσίου καὶ ἡδύσματα πολλὰ σφόδρα καὶ λίθον τίμιον οὐκ ἐληλύθει κατὰ τὰ ἡδύσματα ἐκεῖνα ἔτι εἰς πλῆθος ἃ ἔδωκεν βασίλισσα Σαβα τῷ βασιλεῖ Σαλωμων
Then the queen gave to the king [the things that she had brought. She gave him] almost five tons of gold and a large amount of spices and valuable gems. Never again did King Solomon receive more spices than the queen gave him at that time.
11 καὶ ἡ ναῦς Χιραμ ἡ αἴρουσα τὸ χρυσίον ἐκ Σουφιρ ἤνεγκεν ξύλα ἀπελέκητα πολλὰ σφόδρα καὶ λίθον τίμιον
In the ships that belonged to King Hiram, in which they had previously brought gold from Ophir, they also brought a large amount of juniper wood and gems/valuable stones.
12 καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰ ξύλα τὰ ἀπελέκητα ὑποστηρίγματα τοῦ οἴκου κυρίου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ νάβλας καὶ κινύρας τοῖς ᾠδοῖς οὐκ ἐληλύθει τοιαῦτα ξύλα ἀπελέκητα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐδὲ ὤφθησάν που ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης
King Solomon told his workers to use that wood to make railings/supports in the temple of Yahweh and in the king’s palace and also to make harps and lyres for the (musicians/men who played musical instruments). That wood was the largest amount of (OR, the finest) wood that had ever been seen [in Israel]. And no one since then has ever seen so much wood of that kind.
13 καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Σαλωμων ἔδωκεν τῇ βασιλίσσῃ Σαβα πάντα ὅσα ἠθέλησεν ὅσα ᾐτήσατο ἐκτὸς πάντων ὧν δεδώκει αὐτῇ διὰ χειρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως Σαλωμων καὶ ἀπεστράφη καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτῆς αὐτὴ καὶ πάντες οἱ παῖδες αὐτῆς
King Solomon gave to the queen from Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave her those gifts in addition to the gifts that he always gave [to other rulers who visited him]. Then she and the people who came with her returned to her own land.
14 καὶ ἦν ὁ σταθμὸς τοῦ χρυσίου τοῦ ἐληλυθότος τῷ Σαλωμων ἐν ἐνιαυτῷ ἑνὶ ἑξακόσια καὶ ἑξήκοντα ἓξ τάλαντα χρυσίου
Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.
15 χωρὶς τῶν φόρων τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων καὶ τῶν ἐμπόρων καὶ πάντων τῶν βασιλέων τοῦ πέραν καὶ τῶν σατραπῶν τῆς γῆς
That was in addition to [the taxes] paid to him by the merchants and traders, and the annual taxes paid by the kings of Arabia and by the governors of [the regions in] Israel.
16 καὶ ἐποίησεν Σαλωμων τριακόσια δόρατα χρυσᾶ ἐλατά τριακόσιοι χρυσοῖ ἐπῆσαν ἐπὶ τὸ δόρυ τὸ ἕν
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 15 pounds/more than 6 kg.) of gold on each shield.
17 καὶ τριακόσια ὅπλα χρυσᾶ ἐλατά τρεῖς μναῖ χρυσίου ἐνῆσαν εἰς τὸ ὅπλον τὸ ἕν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὰ εἰς οἶκον δρυμοῦ τοῦ Λιβάνου
His workers made 300 smaller shields. They covered each of them with (almost 4 pounds/1.5 kg.) of gold. Then the king put those shields in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς θρόνον ἐλεφάντινον μέγαν καὶ περιεχρύσωσεν αὐτὸν χρυσίῳ δοκίμῳ
His workers also made for him a large throne. [Part of it was] covered with (ivory [decorations made from)] tusks of elephants and [part of it was covered] with very fine gold.
19 ἓξ ἀναβαθμοὶ τῷ θρόνῳ καὶ προτομαὶ μόσχων τῷ θρόνῳ ἐκ τῶν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ χεῖρες ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν ἐπὶ τοῦ τόπου τῆς καθέδρας καὶ δύο λέοντες ἑστηκότες παρὰ τὰς χεῖρας
There were six steps in front of the throne. There was a statue of a lion on both sides of each step. So altogether there were twelve statues of lions. The back of the throne was rounded at the top. At each side of the throne there was an armrest, and alongside each armrest there was a small statue of a lion. No throne like that had ever existed in any other kingdom.
20 καὶ δώδεκα λέοντες ἑστῶτες ἐπὶ τῶν ἓξ ἀναβαθμῶν ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν οὐ γέγονεν οὕτως πάσῃ βασιλείᾳ
21 καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη τοῦ πότου Σαλωμων χρυσᾶ καὶ λουτῆρες χρυσοῖ πάντα τὰ σκεύη οἴκου δρυμοῦ τοῦ Λιβάνου χρυσίῳ συγκεκλεισμένα οὐκ ἦν ἀργύριον ὅτι οὐκ ἦν λογιζόμενον ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Σαλωμων
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.
22 ὅτι ναῦς Θαρσις τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ μετὰ τῶν νηῶν Χιραμ μία διὰ τριῶν ἐτῶν ἤρχετο τῷ βασιλεῖ ναῦς ἐκ Θαρσις χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου καὶ λίθων τορευτῶν καὶ πελεκητῶν
The king had a (fleet/large number) 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).
23 καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθη Σαλωμων ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς πλούτῳ καὶ φρονήσει
King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king.
24 καὶ πάντες βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς ἐζήτουν τὸ πρόσωπον Σαλωμων τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι τῆς φρονήσεως αὐτοῦ ἧς ἔδωκεν κύριος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ
People from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said, things that God had put into his mind.
25 καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔφερον ἕκαστος τὰ δῶρα αὐτοῦ σκεύη χρυσᾶ καὶ ἱματισμόν στακτὴν καὶ ἡδύσματα καὶ ἵππους καὶ ἡμιόνους τὸ κατ’ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐνιαυτόν
All the people who came to him brought presents: They brought things made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons (OR, myrrh), or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every year.
26 καὶ ἦσαν τῷ Σαλωμων τέσσαρες χιλιάδες θήλειαι ἵπποι εἰς ἅρματα καὶ δώδεκα χιλιάδες ἱππέων καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὰς ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι τῶν ἁρμάτων καὶ μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἦν ἡγούμενος πάντων τῶν βασιλέων ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ ἕως γῆς ἀλλοφύλων καὶ ἕως ὁρίων Αἰγύπτου
Solomon acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men who rode [on the horses] (OR, [in the chariots]). Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots.
27 καὶ ἔδωκεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸ χρυσίον καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον ἐν Ιερουσαλημ ὡς λίθους καὶ τὰς κέδρους ἔδωκεν ὡς συκαμίνους τὰς ἐν τῇ πεδινῇ εἰς πλῆθος
During the years that Solomon was king, silver became as common in Jerusalem as stones; and [lumber from] cedar trees in the foothills of Judah was as plentiful as [lumber from] fig trees.
28 καὶ ἡ ἔξοδος τῶν ἵππων Σαλωμων ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐκ Θεκουε ἔμποροι τοῦ βασιλέως ἐλάμβανον ἐκ Θεκουε ἐν ἀλλάγματι
Solomon’s agents bought horses and supervised the men who brought them into Israel from the areas of Musri and Cilicia [that were famous for breeding horses].
29 καὶ ἀνέβαινεν ἡ ἔξοδος ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἅρμα ἀντὶ ἑκατὸν ἀργυρίου καὶ ἵππος ἀντὶ πεντήκοντα ἀργυρίου καὶ οὕτω πᾶσιν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν Χεττιιν καὶ βασιλεῦσιν Συρίας κατὰ θάλασσαν ἐξεπορεύοντο
In Musri they bought chariots and horses; they paid 600 pieces of silver for each chariot and 150 pieces of silver for each horse. They brought them to Israel. Then they sold many of them to the kings of the Heth people-group and the kings of Syria.
