^9:1When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,¹ she came to challenge² him³ with difficult questions.⁴ She arrived in Jerusalem⁵ with a great display of pomp,⁶ bringing with her camels carrying spices,⁷ a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. ^9:2Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.⁸^9:3When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom,⁹ the palace¹⁰ he had built, ^9:4the food in his banquet hall,¹¹ his servants and attendants¹² in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple,¹³ she was amazed.¹⁴^9:5She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight¹⁵ was true! ^9:6I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story!¹⁶ Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. ^9:7Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy!¹⁷^9:8May the Lord your God be praised because he favored¹⁸ you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf!¹⁹ Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them,²⁰ he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.”²¹^9:9She gave the king 120 talents²² 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.²³^9:10(Huram’s²⁴ servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as²⁵ fine²⁶ timber and precious gems. ^9:11With the timber the king made steps²⁷ for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments²⁸ for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that.²⁹) ^9:12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him.³⁰ Then she left and returned³¹ to her homeland with her attendants.

Solomon’s Wealth

^9:13Solomon received 666 talents³² of gold per year,³³^9:14besides what he collected from the merchants³⁴ and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. ^9:15King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures³⁵ of hammered gold were used for each shield. ^9:16He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures³⁶ of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.³⁷

^9:17The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. ^9:18There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne.³⁸ The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.³⁹^9:19There 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.⁴⁰

^9:20All 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.⁴¹^9:21The king had a fleet of large merchant ships⁴² manned by Huram’s men⁴³ that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet⁴⁴ came into port with cargoes of⁴⁵ gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.⁴⁶

^9:22King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.⁴⁷^9:23All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.⁴⁸^9:24Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.⁴⁹

^9:25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses⁵⁰ and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.⁵¹^9:26He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River⁵² to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. ^9:27The king made silver as plentiful⁵³ in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was⁵⁴ as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands⁵⁵. ^9:28Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

^9:29The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded⁵⁶ 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. ^9:30Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem⁵⁷ for forty years. ^9:31Then Solomon passed away⁵⁸ and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.

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Footnotes

1 Heb “the report about Solomon.”
2 Or “test.”
3 Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
4 Or “riddles.”
5 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
6 Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
7 Or “balsam oil.”
8 Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
9 Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”
10 Heb “house.”
11 Heb “the food on his table.”
12 Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
13 The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the Lord.” But עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper room”) should be emended to עֹלָתוֹ, (’olato, “his burnt sacrifice[s]”). See the parallel account in 1 Kgs 10:5.
14 Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
15 Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
16 Heb “the half was not told to me.”
17 Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
18 Or “delighted in.”
19 Heb “as king for the Lord your God.”
20 Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
21 Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
22 The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
23 Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
24 Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew , along with the , , and spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
25 Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
26 Heb “algum.”
27 Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
28 Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
29 Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
30 Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
31 Heb “turned and went.”
32 The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
33 Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 units of gold.”
34 Heb “traveling men.”
35 The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
36 The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
37 This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
38 The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
39 Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
40 Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
41 Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
42 Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish with the servants of Huram.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
43 Heb “servants.”
44 Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
45 Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
46 The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” has “monkeys,” , “peacocks,” and “baboons.”
47 Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
48 Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
49 Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver … and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
50 The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
51 Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.” For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
52 Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
53 The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
54 Heb “he made cedar.”
55 Heb “as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah.”
56 Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, the former and the latter, are they not written?”
57 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
58 Heb “lay down with his fathers.”