^aNow when the ^bqueen of ^cSheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came ^dto test him with difficult questions. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels ^acarrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 Solomon ¹answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not ²explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and ¹his stairway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 Nevertheless I did not believe the ¹reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 How ^ablessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 ^aBlessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; ^bbecause the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, ^cto do justice and righteousness.” 10 ^aShe gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 ^aAlso the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 ^aThe king made of the almug trees supports for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.

13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to ¹his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land ²together with her servants.

14 ^aNow the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the ¹wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^aArabs and the governors of the country. 16 ^aKing Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, ¹using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 He made ^a300 shields of beaten gold, ¹using three minas of gold on each shield, and ^bthe king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ^aivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and ¹arms ²on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ³arms. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered ¹valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For ^athe king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

23 ^aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ^ato hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 ^aThey brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 ^aNow Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he ¹stationed them in the ^bchariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 ^aThe king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ¹lowland. 28 ^aAlso Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 A chariot ¹was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ²by the same means they exported them ^ato all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.

^aNow when the ^bqueen of ^1cSheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came ^dto test him with riddles. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan (entourage) , with camels ^acarrying spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her mind to discover the extent of his wisdom. 3 Solomon ¹answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house (palace) which he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants (court officials) , the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, his ¹stairway by which he went up to the house (temple) of the LORD, she was breathless and awed by the wonder of it all. 6 Then she told the king, “The report which I heard in my own land about your words and wisdom is true! 7 I did not believe the report until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of it was not told to me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 ^aHow blessed (fortunate, happy) are your men! How blessed are these your servants who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom! 9 ^aBlessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel! ^bBecause the LORD loved Israel forever, He made you king ^cto execute justice and righteousness.” 10 ^aShe gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again did such an abundance of spices come in to Israel as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 ^aAlso the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood (sandalwood) and precious stones. 12 From the almug wood (sandalwood) ^athe king made pillars for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Such almug wood did not come in to Israel again, nor has it been seen to this day.

13 King Solomon in turn gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her ¹from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

14 ^aNow the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one particular year was six hundred and sixty-six ¹talents of gold, 15 besides the taxes from the traders and from the wares of the merchants, and the tribute money from all the kings of the ^aArabs (Bedouins) and the governors of the country. 16 ^aKing Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten (hammered) gold; ¹six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He made ^athree hundred smaller shields of beaten gold; ¹three minas of gold went into each shield. ^bThe king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon the king’s armory. 18 Also the king made a great throne of ^aivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and a round ¹top was attached to the throne from the back. On either side of the seat were armrests, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on either end of each of the six steps; there was nothing like it made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For ^athe king had at sea the large cargo ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

23 ^aSo King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 24 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ^ato hear his wisdom which God had put in his mind. 25 ^aEvery man brought a gift of tribute: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 ^aNow Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the ^bchariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 ^aThe king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the ¹sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 ^aSolomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from ¹Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue, for a price. Deut 17:15, 16 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and in the same way they exported them, by the king’s merchants, ^ato all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram (Syria) .

^aNow the ^bqueen of ^cSheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came ^dto test him with riddles. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels ^acarrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; there was not a matter which was hidden from the king which he did not declare to her. 4 Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and ¹his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 Nevertheless I did not believe those words, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not declared to me. You exceed, in wisdom and prosperity, the report which I heard. 8 How ^ablessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 ^aBlessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; ^bbecause Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, ^cto do justice and righteousness.” 10 ^aThen she gave the king ¹120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 ^aAlso, the ships of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 ^aAnd the king made of the almug trees supports for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.

13 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to ¹his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

14 ^aNow the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the ¹wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^aArabs and the governors of the country. 16 ^aAnd King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, ¹using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made ^a300 shields of beaten gold, ¹using ²three minas of gold on each shield, and ^bthe king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ^aivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and ¹arms ²on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ³arms. 20 Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. 21 Now all King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered ¹valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For ^athe king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

23 ^aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ^ato hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 ^aAnd they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.

26 ^aAnd Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and ¹stationed them in the ^bchariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 ^aThe king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ¹Shephelah. 28 ^aSolomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 And a chariot ¹was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ²by the same means they exported them ^ato all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.