1 Kings 10
Good News Translation
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba(A)
10 (B)The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame,[a] and she traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. 2 She brought with her a large group of attendants, as well as camels loaded with spices, jewels, and a large amount of gold. When she and Solomon met, she asked him all the questions that she could think of. 3 He answered them all; there was nothing too difficult for him to explain. 4 The queen of Sheba heard Solomon's wisdom and saw the palace he had built. 5 She saw the food that was served at his table, the living quarters for his officials, the organization of his palace staff and the uniforms they wore, the servants who waited on him at feasts, and the sacrifices he offered in the Temple. It left her breathless and amazed. 6 She said to King Solomon, “What I heard in my own country about you[b] and your wisdom is true! 7 But I couldn't believe it until I had come and seen it all for myself. But I didn't hear even half of it; your wisdom and wealth are much greater than what I was told. 8 How fortunate are your wives![c] And how fortunate your servants, who are always in your presence and are privileged to hear your wise sayings! 9 Praise the Lord your God! He has shown how pleased he is with you by making you king of Israel. Because his love for Israel is eternal, he has made you their king so that you can maintain law and justice.”
10 She presented to King Solomon the gifts she had brought: almost five tons of gold and a very large amount of spices and jewels. The amount of spices she gave him was by far the greatest that he ever received at any time.
(11 Hiram's fleet, which had brought gold from Ophir, also brought from there a large amount of juniper wood and jewels. 12 Solomon used the wood to build railings in the Temple and the palace, and also to make harps and lyres for the musicians. It was the finest juniper wood ever imported into Israel; none like it has ever been seen again.)
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for, besides all the other customary gifts that he had generously given her. Then she and her attendants returned to the land of Sheba.
King Solomon's Wealth(C)
14 Every year King Solomon received over twenty-five tons of gold, 15 in addition to the taxes[d] paid by merchants, the profits from trade, and tribute paid by the Arabian kings and the governors of the Israelite districts.
16 Solomon made two hundred large shields and had each one overlaid with almost fifteen pounds of gold. 17 He also made three hundred smaller shields, overlaying each one of them with nearly four pounds of gold. He had all these shields placed in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.[e]
18 He also had a large throne made. Part of it was covered with ivory and the rest of it was covered with the finest gold. 19-20 The throne had six steps leading up to it, with the figure of a lion at each end of every step, a total of twelve lions. At the back of the throne was the figure of a bull's head, and beside each of the two armrests was the figure of a lion. No throne like this had ever existed in any other kingdom.
21 All of Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and all the utensils in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. No silver was used, since it was not considered valuable in Solomon's day. 22 He had a fleet of ocean-going ships sailing with Hiram's fleet. Every three years his fleet would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
23 King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king, 24 and the whole world wanted to come and listen to the wisdom that God had given him. 25 Everyone who came brought him a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This continued year after year.
26 (D)Solomon built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem and the rest he stationed in various other cities. 27 (E)During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah. 28 (F)The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri[f] and Cilicia,[g] 29 and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:1 Probable text (see 2 Ch 9.1) Solomon's fame; Hebrew Solomon's fame concerning the name of the Lord.
- 1 Kings 10:6 you; or your deeds.
- 1 Kings 10:8 Some ancient translations wives; Hebrew men.
- 1 Kings 10:15 Some ancient translations taxes; Hebrew men.
- 1 Kings 10:17 See 7.2-3.
- 1 Kings 10:28 Probable text Musri; Hebrew Egypt.
- 1 Kings 10:28 Two ancient countries in what is now southeast Turkey which were centers of horse breeding in Solomon's time.
1 Kings 10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 10
The Queen of Sheba’s Visit.[a] 1 When the Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation, she came to test him with difficult questions.[b] 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels carrying spices and large quantities of gold and precious stones. When she arrived upon her visit to Solomon, she told him everything that was on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all of her questions. There were no hidden things that Solomon could not tell her.
4 When the Queen of Sheba saw all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the assembly of his servants, the attendance of his ministers in their robes and their cupbearers, and the way that he went up into the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. 6 She said to the king, “The report that I heard in my own land concerning your actions and your wisdom are true. 7 However, I could not believe the report until I had come and seen it with my own eyes. They did not tell me the half of it. Your wisdom and your wealth exceed the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these, your servants, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom. 9 Blessed be the Lord, your God, who delights in you, placing you upon the throne of Israel. The Lord of Israel has established you as king to exercise justice and righteousness because he has loved you forever.”
10 She then gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious stones. A more abundant quantity of spices never arrived than that which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Furthermore, the ships of Hiram that had brought the gold from Ophir also brought large quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 The king made steps of almug wood for the temple of the Lord and for the king’s palace as well as harps and stringed instruments for accompanying singers. Almug wood such as this has not arrived or been seen up to the present day.
13 King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba whatever she desired. He gave her whatever she asked for in addition to what King Solomon had already given her. She then returned, going to her own country along with her servants.
14 Solomon’s Wealth.[c]The weight of the gold that Solomon would receive in a year was six hundred, sixty-six talents 15 in addition to what he received from merchants and the profits from trade, as well as from the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made two hundred shields from beaten gold. Each of the shields contained six hundred shekels of gold. 17 He also made three hundred shields from beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield. The king placed them in the palace built with the wood of Lebanon. 18 The king also made an ivory throne and had it overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the back of the throne had a rounded top. On either side of the seat there were armrests, and there was a lion standing alongside each of the armrests. 20 There were twelve lions standing upon the six steps, with one on each side of the step. Nothing like this had ever been made in any other kingdom.
21 All of King Solomon’s goblets were made of gold, and all of the other utensils in the palace made from Lebanon wood were also made from the finest gold. Nothing was made from silver, for it was not considered to be worth anything in Solomon’s time.
22 The king also had ships of Tarshish at sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons with them. 23 King Solomon was greater in wealth and wisdom than all of the other kings on the earth.
24 Solomon’s Acclaim. Everyone on the earth sought to visit Solomon to listen to his wisdom which God had placed in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone brought him presents of things made from silver, things made from gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and donkeys.
26 Solomon’s Chariots and Horses. Solomon collected chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand, four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed them in cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem. Cedar became as common as the sycamore that abounds in the Shephelah.[d] 28 Solomon brought horses from Egypt and Cilicia. The king’s merchants bought them in Cilicia. 29 They imported chariots from Egypt that cost six hundred silver shekels and horses that cost one hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all of the Hittite and Aramean kings.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:1 Solomon’s reputation drew foreign rulers. The prophet Isaiah (60:6) will use the memory of the visit of the Queen of Sheba (Arabia) to exalt Jerusalem as spiritual capital of all peoples in Messianic times; it is due to Isaiah that the queen plays a part in our Epiphany liturgy. Our Lord will also recall her in his comparison of himself and Solomon (Mt 12:42).
- 1 Kings 10:1 The kingdom of Sheba was located in the southeastern part of the Arabian peninsula (this explains our Lord’s reference to the “queen of the south” in Mt 12:42; Lk 11:31); in fact, however, the visitor was probably the queen of a Sheban colony in northern Arabia.
- 1 Kings 10:14 God was generous to Solomon and rewarded him with enormous wealth and power because when presented with the opportunity, he had humbly asked for wisdom (1 Ki 3:13).
- 1 Kings 10:27 Shephelah: the hilly region between the mountains of Judea and the Mediterranean.
1 Kings 10
New King James Version
The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon(A)
10 Now when the (B)queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came (C)to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great [a]retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing [b]so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, (D)and his entryway 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 However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. 8 (E)Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 (F)Blessed be the Lord your God, who (G)delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, (H)to do justice and righteousness.”
10 Then she (I)gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 (J)Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of [c]almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 (K)And the king made [d]steps of the almug wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such (L)almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.
13 Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Great Wealth
14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that from the (M)traveling merchants, from the income of traders, (N)from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.
16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made (O)three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the (P)House of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 (Q)Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
21 (R)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. 22 For the king had (S)merchant[e] ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant (T)ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [f]monkeys. 23 So (U)King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
26 (V)And Solomon (W)gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he [g]stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 (X)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.
28 (Y)Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; (Z)and [h]thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:2 company
- 1 Kings 10:3 too
- 1 Kings 10:11 algum, 2 Chr. 9:10, 11
- 1 Kings 10:12 Or supports
- 1 Kings 10:22 Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea vessels
- 1 Kings 10:22 Or peacocks
- 1 Kings 10:26 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. 2 Chr. 9:25); MT led
- 1 Kings 10:29 Lit. by their hands
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
