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The Queen of Sheba

^1 (C1)Now the ^(C1)queen of ^(C2)Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came ^(C3)to test him with riddles.² She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels ^(C1)carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart.³ And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; there was not a matter which was hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.⁴ Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and ^(F1)his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her.⁶ Then she said to the king, "The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.⁷ "Nevertheless I did not believe those words, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not declared to me. You exceed, in wisdom and prosperity, the report which I heard.⁸ "How ^(C1)blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.⁹ "^(C1)Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; ^(C2)because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, ^(C3)to do justice and righteousness."^10 (C1)Then she gave the king ^(F1)120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

^11 (C1)Also, the ships of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones.^12 (C1)And the king made of the almug trees supports for the house of Yahweh and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.

¹³ Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to ^(F1)his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

Solomon's Riches and Wisdom

^14 (C1)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,¹⁵ besides that from the traders and the ^(F1)wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^(C1)Arabs and the governors of the country.^16 (C1)And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, ^(F1)using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield.¹⁷ And he made ^(C1)300 shields of beaten gold, ^(F1)using ^(F2)three minas of gold on each shield, and ^(C2)the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.¹⁸ Moreover, the king made a great throne of ^(C1)ivory and overlaid it with refined gold.¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and ^(F1)arms ^(F2)on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ^(F1)arms.²⁰ Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms.²¹ Now all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered ^(F1)valuable in the days of Solomon.²² For ^(C1)the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

^23 (C1)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.²⁴ And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ^(C1)to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.^25 (C1)And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.

^26 (C1)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and ^(F1)stationed them in the ^(C2)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.^27 (C1)The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ^(F1)Shephelah.^28 (C1)Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king's merchants procured them from Kue for a price.²⁹ And a chariot ^(F1)was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ^(F2)by the same means they exported them ^(C1)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.