New King James Version

New Living Translation

The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

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Visit of the Queen of Sheba

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind.

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So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.

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Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.

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And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

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When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built,

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the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

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she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers and their robes, and the burnt offeringsa Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD.

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Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

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She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievementsb and wisdom is true!

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However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard.

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I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told.

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Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

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How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom!

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Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

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Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule for him. Because God loves Israel and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king over them so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

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And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

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Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 poundsc of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

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Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought [a]algum wood and precious stones.

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(In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwoodd and precious jewels.

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And the king made walkways of the [b]algum wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.

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The king used the sandalwood to make stepse for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.)

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Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

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King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for — gifts of greater value than the gifts she had given him. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.

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Solomon’s Great Wealth

The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

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Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

Each year Solomon received about 25 tonsf of gold.

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besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

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This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

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

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King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds.g

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He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; [c]three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

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He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1/2 pounds.h The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

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

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Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.

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The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were [d]armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.

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The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne.

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Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

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There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!

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All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

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All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!

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For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of [e]Hiram. Once every three years the [f]merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [g]monkeys.

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The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish manned by the sailors sent by Hiram.i Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.j

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

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So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth.

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

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Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him.

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Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

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Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

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Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.

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Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses.k He stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem.

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So he reigned over all the kings from [h]the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.

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He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates Riverl in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south.

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The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

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The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.m

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And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

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Solomon’s horses were imported from Egyptn and many other countries.

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Death of Solomon

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

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Summary of Solomon’s Reign

The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and also in The Visions of Iddo the Seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.

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Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

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Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

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Then Solomon [i]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

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When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

2 Chronicles 9

2 Chronicles 9