The Queen of Sheba
11 And the ships of Hiram as well, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 The king made from the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day.
13 And King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she requested, besides what he gave her in proportion to [f]his royal bounty. Then she [g]departed and went to her own land [h]together with her servants.
Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom
14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was [i]666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders, and the [j]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, [k]using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made three hundred small shields of beaten gold, [l]using [m]three minas of gold on each shield; and the king put them in the house of the timber of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a large throne of ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its back, and [n]armrests [o]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [p]armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for [q]any other kingdom. 21 Now all King Solomon’s drinking utensils were of gold, and all the utensils of the house of the timber of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered as amounting to anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
23 So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the [r]attention of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 And they were bringing, everyone, [s]a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he [t]stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [u]lowland. 28 Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price. 29 A chariot [v]was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and [w]by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words
- 1 Kings 10:5 Lit there was no more breath in her
- 1 Kings 10:6 Lit word
- 1 Kings 10:7 Lit words
- 1 Kings 10:10 About 4.5 tons or 4 metric tons
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit the hand of King Solomon
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit turned around
- 1 Kings 10:13 Lit she and her
- 1 Kings 10:14 About 25 tons or 23 metric tons
- 1 Kings 10:15 Or traffic
- 1 Kings 10:16 Lit he brought up
- 1 Kings 10:17 Lit he brought up
- 1 Kings 10:17 About 3.8 lb. or 1.7 kg
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit from this and from this at the place of the seat
- 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
- 1 Kings 10:20 Lit all kingdoms
- 1 Kings 10:24 Lit face
- 1 Kings 10:25 Lit his gift
- 1 Kings 10:26 As in ancient versions; MT led
- 1 Kings 10:27 Heb Shephelah
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit came up and went out from
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit in the same way by their hand