Old/New Testament
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)
10 When the queen of Sheba heard ·about [the reports about; or the fame of] Solomon ·because of [L for; to] the ·reputation [name] of the Lord, she came to test him with ·hard questions [riddles]. 2 She traveled to Jerusalem with a ·large group of servants [caravan; retinue] and camels carrying spices, ·jewels [precious stones], and ·much [immense quantities of] gold. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all she had in ·mind [L her heart], 3 and Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was ·too hard for [hidden from; too obscure for] him to explain to her. 4 The queen of Sheba ·learned [perceived; observed; realized] that Solomon was very wise. She saw the ·palace [L house] he had built, 5 the food on his table, the ·accommodations [seating; organization] of his many ·officers [officials; servants], the ·palace [attending of his] servants, and their ·good clothes [robes]. She saw ·the servants who served him at feasts [his cupbearers] and the whole burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] he made in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. All these things ·amazed [overwhelmed; L took the spirit from] her.
6 So she said to King Solomon, “What I heard in my own country about your ·achievements [or words] and wisdom is true. 7 I could not believe it then, but now I have come and seen it with my own eyes. I was not told even half of it! Your wisdom and wealth are much greater than I had heard. 8 Your ·men and officers [or wives and servants] are very ·lucky [blessed; happy], because in always ·serving [standing before] you, they ·are able to hear [listen to] your wisdom. 9 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord your God, who ·was pleased to make you king [delighted in you and set you on the throne] of Israel. The Lord has ·constant [eternal; everlasting] love for Israel, so he made you king to ·keep [maintain; execute; administer] justice and ·to rule fairly [righteousness].”
10 Then she gave the king ·about nine thousand pounds [L one hundred and twenty talents] of gold and many spices and ·jewels [precious stones]. No one since that time has brought more spices than the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 (Moreover, Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir, as well as much ·juniper wood [almug; red sandalwood] and ·jewels [precious stones]. 12 Solomon used the ·juniper wood [almug; red sandalwood] to build supports for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and the ·palace [L king’s house], and to make harps and lyres for the ·musicians [singers]. Such fine ·juniper wood [almug; red sandalwood] has not been brought in or been seen since that time.)
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for, in addition to what he had already given her ·of his wealth [according to his royal bounty; or out of his royal treasury]. Then she and her ·servants [attendants; retinue] returned to her own country.
Solomon’s Wealth(B)
14 ·Every [or In one] year King Solomon received ·about fifty thousand pounds [L 666 talents] of gold. 15 Besides that, he also received gold from the traders and merchants, as well as from the kings of Arabia and governors of the ·land [territories; provinces].
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of ·hammered [beaten] gold, each of which contained ·about seven and one-half pounds [L six hundred shekels] of gold. 17 He also made three hundred smaller shields of ·hammered [beaten] gold, each of which contained ·about four pounds [L three minas] of gold. The king put them in the ·Palace [L House] of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 The king built a large throne ·of [decorated with] ivory and covered it with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps on it, and its back was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the chair, and each armrest had a lion beside it. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All of Solomon’s drinking ·cups [goblets; vessels], as well as the ·dishes [utensils; vessels] in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, were made of pure gold. Nothing was made from silver, because silver was ·not valuable [considered worthless/nothing] in Solomon’s time.
22 King Solomon also had ·many trading ships [L a fleet of ships of Tarshish] at sea, along with Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ·ships [L fleet of Tarshish] returned, bringing back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and ·baboons [or peacocks].
23 So Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. 24 ·People everywhere wanted [The whole earth sought] to see King Solomon and listen to the wisdom God had ·given him [L put into his heart/mind]. 25 Every ·year [or one of] those who came brought gifts of silver and gold, ·clothes [robes; garments], weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
26 Solomon had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand ·horses [or horsemen; charioteers]. He ·kept [stationed] some in special cities for the chariots, and others he kept with him in Jerusalem. 27 In Jerusalem Solomon made silver as common as stones and cedar trees as ·common [plentiful] as the ·fig [sycamore] trees on the ·western hills [or lowlands]. 28 He imported horses from Egypt and ·Kue [Cilicia]. His traders bought them in Kue. 29 A chariot from Egypt cost ·about fifteen pounds [L six hundred shekels] of silver, and a horse cost ·nearly four pounds [L 150 pieces] of silver. Solomon’s traders also ·sold [exported] horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.
Solomon’s Many Wives
11 King Solomon loved many ·women who were not from Israel [L foreign women]. He loved the daughter of ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh], as well as women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites [Prov. 5–7]. 2 The Lord had told the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], “You must not ·marry people of other nations [or associate with them; L come into them, and they must not come into you]. If you do, they will cause you to ·follow [L turn your hearts to] their gods.” But Solomon ·fell in love with these women [L clung/held fast to them in love]. 3 He had seven hundred wives who were from royal families and three hundred ·slave women who gave birth to his children [concubines; C a secondary wife of lower status than a primary wife, but higher than a common servant]. His wives ·caused him to turn away from God [led him astray; L turned his heart away]. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives ·caused him to follow [led him astray after; L turned his heart away after] other gods. ·He did not follow the Lord completely [L His heart was not wholly devoted/faithful to the Lord his God] as ·his father David had done [the heart of his father David had been]. 5 Solomon ·worshiped [followed; went after] Ashtoreth, the goddess of the people of Sidon, and ·Molech [L Milcom], the ·hated [detestable] god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord] and ·did not [refused to] follow the Lord completely as his father David had done.
7 On a hill east of Jerusalem [C the Mount of Olives], Solomon built two ·places for worship [L high places; 3:2]. One was a place to worship Chemosh, the ·hated [detestable] god of the Moabites, and the other was a place to worship Molech, the ·hated [detestable] god of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon did the same thing for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and offer sacrifices to their gods.
9 The Lord had appeared to Solomon twice, but the ·king [L his heart had] turned away from following the Lord, the God of Israel. The Lord was angry with Solomon, 10 because he had ·commanded [warned] Solomon not to follow other gods. But Solomon did not ·obey [observe; keep] the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have chosen to break your ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with me and have not obeyed my commands, I will tear your kingdom away from you and give it to one of your ·officers [L servants]. 12 But I will not take it away ·while you are alive [L in your days] ·because of my love for [for the sake of] your father David. I will tear it away from [L the hand of] your son. 13 I will not tear away all the kingdom from him, but I will ·leave [give] him one tribe to rule. I will do this ·because [for the sake] of David, my servant, and ·because [for the sake] of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen.”
Solomon’s Enemies
14 The Lord ·caused [L raised up] Hadad the Edomite, a member of the royal family of Edom, to become Solomon’s ·enemy [adversary]. 15 Earlier, David had defeated Edom. When Joab, the commander of David’s army, went into Edom to bury the dead [C Israelite soldiers], he ·killed [slaughtered] all the males. 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed in Edom for six months and ·killed [exterminated; eliminated] every male in Edom. 17 At that time Hadad was only a young boy, so he ·ran away [fled; escaped] to Egypt with some of his father’s ·officers [servants]. 18 They ·left [set out from] Midian and went ·to Paran, where they were joined by other men [or with men from Paran]. Then they all went to Egypt to see Pharaoh the king, who ·gave [assigned] Hadad a house, some food, and some land.
19 ·The king liked Hadad so much [Hadad became such a great favorite of Pharaoh that] he gave Hadad a wife—the sister of Tahpenes, the king’s wife. 20 ·They had [L She bore for him] a son named Genubath. Queen Tahpenes ·brought him up [raised; or weaned him] in the royal palace with ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] own ·children [or sons].
21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David ·had died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead also. So Hadad said to the king, “Let me go; I will return to my own country.”
22 “Why do you want to go back to your own country?” the king asked. “What ·haven’t I given you here [L do you lack with me]?”
“Nothing,” Hadad answered, “but please, let me go.”
23 God also caused another man to be Solomon’s ·enemy [adversary]—Rezon son of Eliada. Rezon had ·run away [fled] from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 After David ·defeated [slaughtered; massacred] the army of Zobah, Rezon gathered some men and became the leader of a ·small army [marauding band; gang of rebels]. They went to Damascus and settled there, and Rezon ·became king of [took control of] Damascus. 25 Rezon ruled Aram, and he ·hated [abhorred; despised; was hostile to] Israel. So he was an ·enemy [adversary] of Israel all the ·time Solomon was alive [L days of Solomon]. Both Rezon and Hadad made trouble for Israel.
26 Jeroboam son of Nebat was one of Solomon’s ·officers [L servants]. He was an Ephraimite from the town of Zeredah, and he was the son of a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam ·turned [rebelled] against the king.
27 This is the ·story [account] of how Jeroboam turned against the king. Solomon was ·filling in the land [building the terraces/Millo; 9:15] and ·repairing [L closed the gap/breach in] the wall of Jerusalem, the city of David, his father. 28 Jeroboam was a ·capable [energetic] man, and Solomon saw that this young man was ·a good worker [industrious]. So Solomon put him over all the ·workers [labor force; or forced labor] from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
29 One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, Ahijah, the prophet from Shiloh, who was wearing a new ·coat [cloak], met him on the road. The two men were alone out in ·the country [a field]. 30 Ahijah took his new ·coat [cloak] and tore it into twelve pieces [C representing the original twelve tribes of Israel]. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces of this coat for yourself. The Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will tear the kingdom away from ·Solomon [L Solomon’s hand] and give you ten tribes. 32 But ·I will allow him to control [L he will have] one tribe. I will do this for the sake of my servant David and for Jerusalem, the city I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 33 I will do this because ·Solomon has [L they have][a] stopped following me and has worshiped the Sidonian goddess Ashtoreth, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god ·Molech [L Milcom]. Solomon has not ·obeyed me [walked in my ways] by doing what ·I said is right [L is right in my sight/eyes] and obeying my laws and commands, as his father David did.
34 “‘But I will not take all the kingdom away from ·Solomon [L his hand]. I will let him rule all ·his life [L the days of his life] ·because [for the sake of] of my servant David, whom I chose, who ·obeyed [observed; kept] all my commands and laws. 35 But I will take the kingdom away from his ·son [L son’s hand], and I will ·allow you to rule over [give you] the ten tribes. 36 I will ·allow Solomon’s son to continue to rule over [L give to his son] one tribe so that David, my servant will always have a ·descendant [L lamp before me; C possibly a metaphor for the reign of a king] in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to ·be worshiped [L put my name]. 37 But I will make you ·rule [reign] over everything you ·want [desire]. You will ·rule [be king] over all of Israel, 38 and I will always be with you if you ·do what I say [L walk in my ways/paths and do what] is right. You must obey all my commands. If you obey my laws and commands as David did, I will be with you. I will ·make your family a lasting family of kings [build you an enduring house/dynasty], as I did for David, and give Israel to you. 39 I will ·punish [afflict; humble] David’s children because of this, but I will not ·punish [afflict; humble] them forever.’”
Solomon’s Death(C)
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he ·ran away [fled] to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he stayed until Solomon died.
41 Everything else King Solomon did, and the wisdom he showed, ·is [L is it not …?] written in the book of the ·history [acts] of Solomon. 42 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 43 Then he ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem], his father. And his son Rehoboam ·became king [reigned] in his place.
Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed(A)
20 “When you see armies all around Jerusalem, you will know ·it will soon be destroyed [L its desolation draws near/is at hand]. 21 At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must get out, and those who are ·near the city [in the countryside] should not go in. 22 These are the days of ·punishment [vengeance; retribution] to ·bring about [fulfill] all that is written in the Scriptures. 23 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] women who are pregnant or have nursing babies [L in those days]! [L For; Because] Great ·trouble [distress; calamity] will come upon this land, and ·God will be angry with these people [L wrath will come against this people]. 24 They will ·be killed by [L fall by the mouth of] the sword and taken as ·prisoners [captives] to all nations. Jerusalem will be ·crushed [trampled] by Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is ·over [fulfilled].
Don’t Fear(B)
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On earth, nations will be ·afraid [distressed] and confused because of the roar and ·fury [surging waves] of the sea. 26 People will be so afraid they will ·faint [or lose all hope], wondering what is ·happening to [coming upon] the world, because the ·powers of the heavens [or heavenly bodies] will be shaken. 27 Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory [Dan. 7:13]. 28 When these things begin to happen, ·look up [or stand up] and hold your heads high, because ·the time when God will free you [your redemption/liberation] is ·near [at hand]!”
Jesus’ Words Will Live Forever(C)
29 Then Jesus told this ·story [parable]: “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees. 30 When their leaves appear, you [L see for yourselves and] know that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is near.
32 “I tell you the truth, all these things will happen ·while the people of this time are still living [L before this generation passes away; C either the generation that sees the destruction of Jerusalem (ad 70), or a future generation of the end times]. 33 ·Earth and sky will be destroyed [T Heaven and earth will pass away], but the words I have spoken will never ·be destroyed [pass away].
Be Ready All the Time
34 “·Be careful [Watch yourselves] not to ·spend your time [or become dulled by; L let your hearts be weighed down by] ·feasting [carousing; debauchery], ·drinking [drunkenness], or worrying about worldly things. If you do, that day might come on you suddenly, 35 ·like a trap. For it will come upon all people who live on the earth. [or Like a trap, it will come upon all people who live on the earth.] 36 So be ·ready [alert; watching] all the time. Pray that you will be strong enough to escape all these things that ·will [are about to] happen and that you will be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 During the day, Jesus taught the people in the Temple, and at night he went out of the city and stayed on the Mount of Olives. 38 Every morning all the people got up early to go to the Temple to listen to him.
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