1 Kings 10 - GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)

10 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation. (He owed his reputation to the name of the Lord.) So she came to test him with riddles. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of servants, with camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she talked to him about everything she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions. No question was too difficult for the king to answer.

4 When the queen of Sheba saw all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he built, 5 the food on his table, his officers’ seating arrangement, the organization of his officials and the uniforms they wore, his cupbearers,[a] and the burnt offerings that he sacrificed at the Lord’s temple, she was breathless. 6 She told the king, “What I heard in my country about your words and your wisdom is true! 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. I wasn’t even told half of it. Your wisdom and wealth surpass the stories I’ve heard. 8 How blessed your men must be! How blessed these servants of yours must be because they are always stationed in front of you, listening to your wisdom! 9 Thank the Lord your God, who is pleased with you. He has put you on the throne of Israel. Because of your God’s eternal love for the people of Israel, he has made you king so that you would maintain justice and righteousness.”

10 She gave the king 9,000 pounds of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such a large quantity of spices brought ⌞into Israel⌟ as those that the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 Hiram’s fleet that brought gold from Ophir also brought a large quantity of sandalwood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 With the sandalwood the king made supports for the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, and lyres and harps for the singers. Never again was sandalwood like this imported ⌞into Israel⌟, nor has any been seen ⌞there⌟ to this day.

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba anything she wanted, whatever she asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal generosity. Then she and her servants went back to her country.

Solomon’s Wealth(B)

14 The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed 49,950 pounds, 15 not counting ⌞the gold⌟ which came from the merchants, the traders’ profits, all the Arab kings, and the governors of the country.

16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, using 15 pounds of gold on each shield. 17 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold, using four pounds of gold on each shield. The king put them in the hall ⌞which he called⌟ the Forest of Lebanon.

18 The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with fine gold. 19 Six steps led to the throne. Carved into the back of the throne was a calf’s head. There were armrests on both sides of the seat. Two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood on six steps, one on each side. Nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

21 All King Solomon’s cups were gold, and all the utensils for the hall ⌞which he called⌟ the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. (Nothing was silver, because it wasn’t considered valuable in Solomon’s time.) 22 The king had a fleet headed for Tarshish with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the Tarshish fleet would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

23 In wealth and wisdom King Solomon was greater than all the ⌞other⌟ kings of the world. 24 The whole world wanted to listen to the wisdom that God gave Solomon. 25 So everyone who came brought him gifts: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This happened year after year.

26 Solomon built up ⌞his army⌟ with chariots and war horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 war horses. He stationed ⌞some⌟ in chariot cities and ⌞others⌟ with himself in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as fig trees in the foothills.

28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders bought them from Kue for a fixed price. 29 Each chariot was imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and each horse for 6 ounces of silver. For the same price they obtained horses to export to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.

Footnotes

  1. 10:5 A cupbearer   was a trusted royal official who ensured that the king’s drink was not poisoned.

Cross references

  1. 1 Kings 10:1 : 2 Chronicles 9:1–12
  2. 1 Kings 10:14 : 2 Chronicles 9:13–25, 27–28; 1:14–17

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1 Kings 10 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

10 And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, and cometh to try him with enigmas, 2 and she cometh to Jerusalem, with a very great company, camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stone, and she cometh unto Solomon, and speaketh unto him ...
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1 Kings 10 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

10 But also the queen of Sheba, when the fame of Solomon was heard, came in the name of the Lord to assay him in dark and doubtful questions. (And the queen of Sheba, when she heard of Solomon’s fame, regarding his knowledge concerning the name of the Lord, came to test him with dark and doubtful qu...
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1 Kings 10 - World English Bible (WEB)

10 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him abo...
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1 Kings 10 - The Voice (VOICE)

10 The queen of Sheba was fascinated when she heard about the famous Solomon and his devotion to the name of the Eternal One. She traveled a long way to meet him and to challenge him with her difficult questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem accompanied by many advisors, assistants, and camels carryi...
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1 Kings 10 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Queen of Sheba Marvels10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon because of the Name of Adonai, she came to test him with hard questions. [a] 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels carrying spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones. When s...
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1 Kings 10 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Visit of the Queen of Sheba10 Now when the queen of Sheba[a] heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she c...
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1 Kings 10 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Visit of the Queen of Sheba10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came...
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1 Kings 10 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Visit of the Queen of Sheba10 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to[a] the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she c...
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1 Kings 10 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Visit of the Queen of Sheba10 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon (fame due to[a] the name of the Lord), she came to test him with riddles.(A)2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones, and when she came to So...
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1 Kings 10 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Visit of the Queen of Sheba10 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord,[a] she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of g...
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1 Kings 10 - New Life Version (NLV)

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon10 When the queen of Sheba heard about the wisdom Solomon had from the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem and many people came with her. She brought camels carrying spices and much gold and stones of much worth. When she came to ...
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1 Kings 10 - New King James Version (NKJV)

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 ston...
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1 Kings 10 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The queen of Sheba visits Solomon10 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan – with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones ...
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1 Kings 10 - New International Version (NIV)

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)10 When the queen of Sheba(B) heard about the fame(C) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.(D) 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan(E)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and prec...
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Solomon Entertains a Queen10 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,[a] she came to challenge[b] him with difficult questions.[c] 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp,[d] bringing with her camels carrying spices,[e] a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visit...
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