1 Kings 10

1The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame concerning the name of Yahweh, and she came to test him with riddles.

2She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

3And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he did not tell her.

4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built,

5the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offering that he offered at the house of Yahweh, there was no more breath in her.

6Then she said to the king, “The report that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom was true.”

7But I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes saw it; and behold, not even half was told to me. You have surpassed the report that I heard in wisdom and prosperity.

8Blessed are your men; blessed are these your servants, who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.

9Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, he has made you king to administer justice and righteousness.

10And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such an abundance of spices come as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11Also, Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great quantity of almug wood and precious stones.

12The king made the almug wood into supports for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood come, nor has any been seen to this day.

13And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked, besides what he gave her according to the hand of King Solomon. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

14The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,

15besides what came from the traveling merchants and from the trade of the merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land.

16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went onto each shield.

17and three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went onto each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18Then the king made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with refined gold.

19The throne had six steps, and the throne had a rounded top at its back, and armrests on this side and on that beside the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.

20And twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, on this side and on that side; nothing like it had been made in any kingdom.

21All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Silver was not considered anything in the days of Solomon.

22For the king had ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come, carrying gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

23So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.

24And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart.

25And they were bringing, each man his tribute: articles of silver, articles of gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, year by year.

26Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen, and he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as the sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah.

28And the importation of the horses that belonged to Solomon was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants would obtain them from Kue at a price.

29And a chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand.