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Easy-to-Read Version

2 Chronicles 9:1

The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, so she came to test him with hard questions. She had a very large group with her. She had camels that carried spices, much gold, and valuable stones. She traveled to Jerusalem with a very large group of servants. There were many camels carrying spices, jewels, and a lot of gold. She met Solomon and asked him all the questions that she could think of.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Sheba;   Solomon;   Thompson Chain Reference - Queen of Sheba;   Queens;   Sheba, Queen of;   Solomon;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Presents;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Sabeans;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Hear, Hearing;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Camel;   Solomon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, the Book of;   Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Chronicles, Books of;   Ointment;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Sheba, Queen of;   Solomon;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Queen (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Queen;   Sheba ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Jerusalem;   Sheba;   Solomon;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Riddle,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Sheba;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fame;   Games;   Gold;   Hard;   Queen;   Queen of Sheba;   Question;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Sabeans;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind.
Hebrew Names Version
When the queen of Sheva heard of the fame of Shlomo, she came to prove Shlomo with hard questions at Yerushalayim, with a very great train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Shlomo, she talked with him of all that was in her heart.
King James Version
And 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.
English Standard Version
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.
New Century Version
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She had a large group of servants with her and camels carrying spices, jewels, and much gold. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all she had in mind,
New English Translation
When 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.
Amplified Bible
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She was accompanied by a very large number of attendants, with camels bearing spices (balsam oil) and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her mind.
New American Standard Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very large entourage, with camels carrying balsam oil and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her heart.
World English Bible
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 train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was in her heart.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And when the Queene of Sheba heard of the fame of Salomon, she came to proue Salomon with hard questions at Ierusalem, with a very great traine, and camels that bare sweete odours and much golde, and precious stones: and when she came to Salomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart.
Berean Standard Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.
Contemporary English Version
The Queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was, so she went to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. She took along several of her officials, and she loaded her camels with gifts of spices, jewels, and gold. When she arrived, she and Solomon talked about everything she could think of.
Complete Jewish Bible
When the queen of Sh'va heard what was being said about Shlomo, she came to test him with difficult questions in Yerushalayim, accompanied by a very great retinue, including camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stones. When she appeared before Shlomo, she spoke with him about everything on her heart;
Darby Translation
And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and came to Jerusalem to prove Solomon with enigmas; with a very great train, and camels that bore spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke with him of all that was in her heart.
George Lamsa Translation
AND when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to test Solomon with enigmas. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance and precious stones; and when she was come to King Solomon, she told him all that was in her heart.
Good News Translation
The queen of Sheba heard of King Solomon's fame, and she traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. She brought with her a large group of attendants, as well as camels loaded with spices, jewels, and a large amount of gold. When she and Solomon met, she asked him all the questions that she could think of.
Lexham English Bible
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.
Literal Translation
And the queen of Sheba had heard of Solomon's fame. And she came to test Solomon with sharp questions at Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels bearing spices, and gold in abundance,and precious stones. And she came in toSolomon and spoke with him all that was in her heart.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan the quene of rich Arabia herde the fame of Salomon, she came with a very greate tryne to Ierusalem (with Camels that bare spyces and golde, and precious stones) to proue Salomon with darke sentences. And whan she came vnto Salomon, she spake vnto him all that she had deuysed in hir mynde.
American Standard Version
And 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 train, 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.
Bible in Basic English
Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to Jerusalem to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions; and with her came a very great train, and camels weighted down with spices, and great stores of gold and jewels: and when she came to Solomon she had talk with him of everything in her mind.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when the queene of Saba hearde of the fame of Solomon, she came to proue him in hard questions at Hierusalem, with a verie great companie, with camels that bare spices, and plentie of golde, and precious stones: And when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that she had in her heart.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And 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 train, and camels that bore spices and gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she spoke with him of all that was in her heart.
King James Version (1611)
And when the Queene of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, shee came to prooue Solomon with hard questions at Ierusalem, with a very great companie, and camels that bare spices, and golde in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, shee communed with him of all that was in her heart.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the queen of Saba heard of the name of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem with a very large force, to prove Solomon with hard questions, and she had camels bearing spices in abundance, and gold, and precious stones: and she came to Solomon, and told him all that was in her mind.
English Revised Version
And 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 train, 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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also the queen of Saba, whanne sche hadde herd the fame of Salomon, cam to tempte hym in derk figuris `in to Jerusalem, with grete ritchessis, and camels, that baren swete smellynge spices, and ful myche of gold, and preciouse iemmes, `ether peerlis. And whanne sche was comun to Salomon, sche spak to hym what euer thingis weren in hir herte.
Update Bible Version
And 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 train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she came to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
Webster's Bible Translation
And 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 bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she had come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
New King James Version
1 Kings 10:1-13">[xr] Now 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.
New Living Translation
When 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.
New Life Bible
The queen of Sheba heard how well Solomon was known in all the lands. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She came with many servants and camels carrying spices and much gold and stones of much worth. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her heart.
New Revised Standard
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she discussed with him all that was on her mind.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the queen of Sheba, heard the report of Solomon, so she came to prove Solomon with abstruse questions, in Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels bearing spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones, - and, when she was come to Solomon, she spake with him, as to all that was near her heart.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the queen of Saba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with great riches, and camels, which carried spices, and abundance of gold, and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she proposed to him all that was in her heart.
Revised Standard Version
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.
Young's Literal Translation
And the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart,
THE MESSAGE
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's reputation and came to Jerusalem to put his reputation to the test, asking all the tough questions. She made a showy entrance—an impressive retinue of attendants and camels loaded with perfume and much gold and precious stones. She emptied her heart to Solomon, talking over everything she cared about. And Solomon answered everything she put to him—nothing stumped him. When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon's wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built, the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials, the sharply dressed waiters, the cupbearers, and then the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at The Temple of God , it all took her breath away.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She had a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart.

Contextual Overview

1 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, so she came to test him with hard questions. She had a very large group with her. She had camels that carried spices, much gold, and valuable stones. She traveled to Jerusalem with a very large group of servants. There were many camels carrying spices, jewels, and a lot of gold. She met Solomon and asked him all the questions that she could think of. 2 Solomon answered all the questions. None of her questions was too hard for him to explain. 3 The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She also saw the beautiful palace he had built. 4 She saw the food at the king's table. She saw his officials meeting together. She saw the servants in the palace and the good clothes they wore. She saw his parties and the sacrifices that he offered in the Lord 's Temple. She was so amazed, she could hardly breathe! 5 Then she said to King Solomon, "The stories I heard in my country about your great works and your wisdom are true. 6 I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Now I see that it is even greater than what I heard. Your wealth and wisdom is much greater than people told me. 7 Your wives and officers are very fortunate! They can serve you and hear your wisdom every day. 8 Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. The Lord God loves Israel, so he made you the king. You follow the law and treat people fairly." 9 Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon 4 1/2 tons of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones. She gave Solomon more spices than anyone has ever brought into Israel. 10 Hiram's servants brought gold from Ophir. They also brought in jewels and a special kind of wood.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

And when: 1 Kings 10:1, 1 Kings 10:2-13, Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31

Sheba: Genesis 10:7, Genesis 10:28, Genesis 25:3

fame: 2 Chronicles 1:1, 2 Chronicles 1:12, 1 Kings 4:31

questions: Psalms 49:4, Psalms 78:2, Proverbs 1:6, Matthew 13:11, Matthew 13:35

camels: Psalms 72:10, Psalms 72:15, Isaiah 60:6

spices: 2 Chronicles 9:9, Matthew 2:11

communed: 1 Samuel 1:15, Psalms 142:2, Matthew 12:34

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 4:34 - General 1 Chronicles 18:10 - all manner Isaiah 30:6 - riches Isaiah 39:2 - precious things Ezekiel 27:22 - Sheba Daniel 5:12 - doubts Luke 12:27 - that

Cross-References

Genesis 1:22
God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.
Genesis 2:3
God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it special because on that day he rested from all the work he did while creating the world.
Genesis 8:17
Bring every living animal out of the boat with you—all the birds, animals, and everything that crawls on the earth. These animals will make many more animals, and they will fill the earth again."
Genesis 9:3
In the past, I gave you the green plants to eat. Now every animal will also be food for you. I give you everything on earth—it is yours.
Genesis 9:4
But I give you one command. You must not eat meat that still has its life (blood) in it.
Genesis 9:7
"Have many children and fill the earth with your people."
Genesis 9:19
These three men were Noah's sons. And all the people on earth came from these three sons.
Genesis 10:32
This is the list of the families from Noah's sons. They are arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the people who spread across the earth after the flood.
Genesis 24:60
While Rebekah was leaving they said to her, "Our sister, may you be the mother of millions of people, and may your descendants defeat their enemies and take their cities."
Psalms 112:1
Praise the Lord ! Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord , who are happy to do what he commands.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The narrative here is parallel with that in marginal reference, from which it varies but little, and to which it adds nothing.

2 Chronicles 9:11

Terraces - Rather, as in the margin, “stairs” (see the 1 Kings 10:12 note).

2 Chronicles 9:12

Beside that which she had brought unto the king - It is difficult to assign any sense to these words as they now stand in the Hebrew text. A slight alteration will give the meaning: “Beside that which the king had brought for her;” which is in conformity with 1 Kings 10:13.

The narrative here is parallel with that in marginal reference, from which it varies but little, and to which it adds nothing.

2 Chronicles 9:11

Terraces - Rather, as in the margin, “stairs” (see the 1 Kings 10:12 note).

2 Chronicles 9:12

Beside that which she had brought unto the king - It is difficult to assign any sense to these words as they now stand in the Hebrew text. A slight alteration will give the meaning: “Beside that which the king had brought for her;” which is in conformity with 1 Kings 10:13.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER IX

The queen of Sheba visits Solomon, and is sumptuously

entertained by him, 1-12.

His great riches, 13, 14.

He makes targets and shields of beaten gold, and a magnificent

ivory throne, and various utensils of gold, 15-20.

His navigation to Tarshish, and the commodities brought thence,

21.

His magnificence and political connections, 22-28.

The writers of his life, 29.

He reigns forty years, and is succeeded by his son Rehoboam,

30, 31.

NOTES ON CHAP. IX

Verse 2 Chronicles 9:1. The queen of Sheba — See all the particulars of this royal visit distinctly marked and explained in the notes on 1 Kings 10:1-10. The Targum calls her queen of Zemargad.


 
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