1 Kings 10 - Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The Queen of Sheba

10 The queen of Sheba(A) heard about Solomon’s fame(B) connected with the name of Yahweh and came to test him with difficult questions.(C) 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing(D) spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.(E) She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built,(F) 5 the food at his table,(G) his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.

6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard.(H) 8 How happy are your men.[a] How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom.(I) 9 May Yahweh your God be praised! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel,(J) because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel.(K) He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”(L)

10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons[b] of gold,(M) a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 In addition, Hiram’s fleet that carried gold from Ophir brought from Ophir a large quantity of almug[c] wood and precious stones.(N) 12 The king made the almug wood into steps for the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood come, and the like has not been seen again even to this very day.

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she, along with her servants, returned to her own country.(O)

Solomon’s Wealth

14 The weight(P) of gold that came to Solomon annually was 25 tons,[d] 15 besides what came from merchants,(Q) traders’ merchandise, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.(R)

16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds[e] of gold went into each shield. 17 He made 300 small shields of hammered gold; about four pounds[f] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(S)

18 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps; there was a rounded top at the back of the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon(T) were pure gold.(U) There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 22 for the king had ships of Tarshish(V) at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[g](W)

23 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.(X) 24 The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.(Y) 25 Every man would bring his annual tribute: items[h] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,[i] spices, and horses and mules.(Z)

26 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen(AA) and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.(AB) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones,(AC) and he made cedar(AD) as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue.[j] The king’s traders bought them from Kue at the going price.(AE) 29 A chariot was imported from Egypt for 15 pounds[k] of silver, and a horse for about four pounds.[l] In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.(AF)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:8 LXX, Syr read your wives
  2. 1 Kings 10:10 Lit 120 talents
  3. 1 Kings 10:11 = algum in 2Ch 2:8; 9:10-11
  4. 1 Kings 10:14 Lit 666 talents
  5. 1 Kings 10:16 Lit 600 (shekels)
  6. 1 Kings 10:17 Lit three minas
  7. 1 Kings 10:22 Or baboons
  8. 1 Kings 10:25 Or vessels, or weapons
  9. 1 Kings 10:25 Or fragrant balsam
  10. 1 Kings 10:28 = Cilicia
  11. 1 Kings 10:29 Lit 600 shekels
  12. 1 Kings 10:29 Lit 150 shekels

Cross references

  1. 10:1 : 2Ch 9:1; Mt 12:42
  2. 10:1-10 : 2Ch 9:1-12
  3. 10:1 : Jdg 14:12-14
  4. 10:2 : Gn 24:10
  5. 10:2 : 1Kg 10:10
  6. 10:4 : 1Kg 7:1
  7. 10:5 : 1Kg 4:22-23
  8. 10:7 : 1Ch 29:25
  9. 10:8 : Pr 8:34
  10. 10:9 : 2Sm 22:20; 1Kg 5:7
  11. 10:9 : 1Ch 17:22; 2Ch 2:11
  12. 10:9 : 2Sm 8:15
  13. 10:10 : 1Kg 9:28
  14. 10:11 : 1Kg 9:27-28
  15. 10:12-13 : 2Ch 9:11-12
  16. 10:14-25 : 2Ch 9:13-24
  17. 10:15 : 2Ch 1:16
  18. 10:14-15 : 1Kg 9:28; 10:2
  19. 10:17 : 1Kg 7:2-5
  20. 10:21 : 1Kg 7:2-5
  21. 10:21 : 1Kg 9:28
  22. 10:22 : Jnh 1:3
  23. 10:22 : 1Kg 9:26-28; 22:48
  24. 10:23 : 1Kg 3:13
  25. 10:24 : 1Kg 3:28; 10:1
  26. 10:23-25 : 2Ch 9:22-24
  27. 10:26 : 1Kg 4:26
  28. 10:26 : 1Kg 9:19
  29. 10:27 : Dt 17:17
  30. 10:27 : 1Kg 5:10; 2Ch 1:15
  31. 10:28 : Dt 17:16; 2Ch 9:28
  32. 10:29 : 2Ch 1:17

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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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1 Kings 10 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon10 The queen of Sheba heard about how famous Solomon was. She also heard about how he served and worshiped the Lord. So she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large group of attendants. Her camels were carrying spices, h...
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1 Kings 10 - New English Translation (NET)

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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