| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. | 1When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. |
| 2So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. | 2Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. |
| 3And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, | 3When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon's extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, |
| 4the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. | 4the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the LORD's temple, she was amazed. |
| 5Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. | 5She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! |
| 6However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. | 6I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn't hear even half the story! Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. |
| 7Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! | 7Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! |
| 8Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” | 8May the LORD your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! Because of your God's love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions." |
| 9And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. | 9She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. |
| 10Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. | 10(Huram's servants, aided by Solomon's servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as fine timber and precious gems. |
| 11And the king made walkways of the algum wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah. | 11With the timber the king made steps for the LORD's temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that.) |
| 12Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. | 12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants. |
| 13The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, | 13Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, |
| 14besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. | 14besides what he collected from the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. |
| 15And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. | 15King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of hammered gold were used for each shield. |
| 16He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. | 16He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. |
| 17Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. | 17The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. |
| 18The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. | 18There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. |
| 19Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. | 19There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. |
| 20All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. | 20All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon's time. |
| 21For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. | 21The king had a fleet of large merchant ships manned by Huram's men that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. |
| 22So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. | 22King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. |
| 23And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. | 23All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. |
| 24Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. | 24Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. |
| 25Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. | 25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. |
| 26So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. | 26He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. |
| 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. | 27The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. |
| 28And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands. | 28Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands. |
| 29Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? | 29The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat. |
| 30Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. | 30Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. |
| 31Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. | 31Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king. |
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