King James Bible

New Living Translation

1And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

1When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind.

2And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.

2Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.

3And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

3When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built,

4And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.

4she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers and their robes, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD.

5And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:

5She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true!

6Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.

6I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told.

7Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.

7How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom!

8Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

8Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule for him. Because God loves Israel and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king over them so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

9And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.

9Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

10(In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwood and precious jewels.

11And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.

11The king used the sandalwood to make steps for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.)

12And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.

12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for—gifts of greater value than the gifts she had given him. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land. Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

13Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;

13Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold.

14Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

14This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.

15King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds.

16And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

16He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1/2 pounds. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

17Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

17Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.

18And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays:

18The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne.

19And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.

19There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!

20And 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: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

20All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!

21For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

21The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish manned by the sailors sent by Hiram. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

22And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

22So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth.

23And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.

23Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him.

24And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

24Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

25And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem.

26And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

26He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south.

27And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.

27The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.

28And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and many other countries. Summary of Solomon’s Reign

29Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

29The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and also in The Visions of Iddo the Seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.

30And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

30Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

31And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

31When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.