Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
9 Now the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, with much wealth and camels, bearing spices and much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and told him all that was on her mind.[a] 2 And Solomon answered all her questions.[b] Not a word was hidden from Solomon that he did not answer for her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the house he had built, 4 and the food of his table, and the position of his officers, the duty of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of Yahweh, there was no longer any breath[c] in her. 5 And she said to the king, “The word which I heard in my land concerning your words and your wisdom is true, 6 but I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not reported to me; you surpass the rumors that I had heard. 7 Blessed are your men, and blessed are these your servants who stand before you regularly and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be Yahweh your God who took delight in you, to put you on his throne as king for Yahweh your God! Because your God loved Israel, he established him forever and has put you over them as king to do justice and righteousness!” 9 And she gave to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. And there were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made steps for the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and lyres and harps for the singers from the algum wood. And there was not seen anything like them before in the land of Judah. 12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desired thing she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her land, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Great Wealth
13 And it happened that the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides the gold and silver the traders and merchants brought, and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made three hundred small shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels went into each small shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 And the king made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 And the throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to the throne. And there were armrests on each side.[d] And by the seat[e] were two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 And twelve lions were standing there on each of the six steps on each end.[f] And there was nothing like it made in all the kingdom. 20 And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not valued as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the ships of the king went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram.[g] Once every three years[h] the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 Thus King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God put in his heart. 24 And each of them brought his gifts, objects of silver, objects of gold, cloaks, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, as an amount year by year. 25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he ruled over all the kings from the River[i] to the land of the Philistines, to the boundary of Egypt. 27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as the sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah for abundance. 28 And the horses were imported from Egypt and from all lands for Solomon.
The Death of Solomon
29 As for the remainder of the words of Solomon from the first to the last, are they not written in the chronicles[j] 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 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his ancestors,[k] and they buried him in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:1 Literally “in her heart”
- 2 Chronicles 9:2 Literally “made known to her all her words”
- 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or “spirit”
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Literally “from this and from that”
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Literally “the place of sitting”
- 2 Chronicles 9:19 Literally “from this and from that”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 This is the spelling in Hebrew, though many translations have “Hiram”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 Literally “for three years”
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 That is, the Euphrates
- 2 Chronicles 9:29 Or “words”
- 2 Chronicles 9:31 Or “fathers”