9 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, accompanied by very many attendants and camels bearing spices, much gold, and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was on her mind.
2 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from [him] which he was unable to make clear to her.
3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen Solomon’s wisdom, the house he had built,
4 The food of his table, the seating of his officials, the [standing at] attention of his servants, their apparel, his cupbearers also and their apparel, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
5 She said to the king, The report which I heard in my own land of your acts and sayings and of your wisdom was true,
6 But I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the fame that I heard of you.
7 Happy are your wives and men, and happy are these your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
8 Blessed be the Lord your God, Who delighted in you and set you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.
9 She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones; such spice was not anywhere as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
10 The servants of Huram and [those] of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones.
11 The king made of the algum trees terraces or walks to the house of the Lord and to the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; none such had ever been seen before in the land of Judah.
12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. So she with her servants returned to her own land.
13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents,
14 Besides what traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 And King Solomon made 200 large shields or bucklers of beaten gold; 600 shekels of beaten gold went into each shield.
16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, with 300 shekels of gold spread on each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover, [he] made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 There were six steps to the throne and a gold footstool attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms.
19 And twelve lions stood there one on either end of each of the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom before.
20 King Solomon’s drinking vessels were all of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not counted as anything in the days of Solomon.
21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with Huram’s servants; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put into his mind.
24 And every man brought his tribute: silver and gold articles, robes, armor, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, stationed in chariot cities or at Jerusalem with the king.(A)
26 And he ruled over [a]all the kings from the [Euphrates] River to the land of Philistia and to the frontier of Egypt.
27 The king made silver in Jerusalem as common as stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as sycamore trees in the lowlands.
28 And they imported horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 Then Solomon slept with his fathers; he was buried in the city of David his father. Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 See footnote on I Kings 4:21 for proof for this statement.