1 Kings 10

Modern

Literal

The Queen of Sheba

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

¹And the queen of Sheba heard the report of Solomon concerning the name of YHWH, and she came to test him with difficult questions.

²She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.

And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

²And she came to Jerusalem with a very great company, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon, and she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

³And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.

³And Solomon answered to her all her matters; there was not a thing so difficult for the king, that he could not explain it to her.

⁴When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,

⁴And the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

⁵the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

⁵and the food on his table, and the seating of his servants, and the service of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered up to the house of YHWH. And there was no breath in her anymore.

⁶She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.

⁶And she said to the king, “True was the word that I heard in my land about your words and your wisdom.

⁷But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard.

⁷I did not believe the words until that I came and my eyes saw, and indeed it was not told to me the half; you have added wisdom and prosperity to the report that I heard.

⁸How blessed are your men!^a How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

⁸Blessed are your men! Blessed are your servants, these who stand before you continually hearing your wisdom!

⁹Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

⁹YHWH your God be blessed, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel, because YHWH has loved Israel forever, and He has appointed you king to do justice and righteousness.”

¹⁰Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold,^a a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices very many, and precious stones. There never came spice like that again in such abundance that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug^a wood and precious stones.

¹¹(And the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir very much almug wood, and precious stones.

¹²The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)

¹²And the king made the steps of almug wood for the house of YHWH, and for the house of the king, and harps and stringed instruments for the singers. There never came again such almug wood, nor has been seen to this day.)

¹³King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.

¹³And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what had been given to her according to the hand of king Solomon. And she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

¹⁴The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,^a

¹⁴And the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,

¹⁵not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

¹⁵besides that from the men—tourists—and from the merchandise of the traders, and from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.

¹⁶King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold^a went into each shield.

¹⁶And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into one shield.

¹⁷He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold^a went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷And he made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into one shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.

¹⁸And the king made a great throne of ivory, and he overlaid it with pure gold.

¹⁹The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.

¹⁹Six steps were to the throne, and the round top of the throne was at the back, and were armrests on this side and on this side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.

²⁰Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

²⁰And twelve lions stood there on the six steps, on this side and on this side. Nothing had been made like this for any kingdoms.

²¹All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

²¹And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver—it was not accounted in the days of Solomon as anything.

²²For the king had the ships of Tarshish^a at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^b

²²For ships of Tarshish were unto the king at sea with the ships of Hiram. Once in three years came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

²³So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²³And King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²⁴The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.

²⁴And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart.

²⁵Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁵And they brought, each man, his present, articles of silver and gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses and mules, the matter of year after year.

²⁶Solomon accumulated 1,400^a chariots and 12,000 horses,^b which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

²⁶And Solomon gathered chariots and horses, and were unto him a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horses, and he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

²⁷The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.^a

²⁷And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees he made as abundant as the sycamores that are in the Shephelah.

²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue;^a the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

²⁸And were imported the horses that were to Solomon from Egypt and Kue; merchants of the king bought them from Kue at a price.

²⁹A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,^a and a horse for a hundred and fifty.^b Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

²⁹And a chariot came up and came out from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And thus to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram, by their hand they brought them out.