the Fourth Week of Advent
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Myles Coverdale Bible
1 Kings 10
1 And whan kynge Salomons fame of the name of the LORDE came to the eares of the Quene of riche Arabia, she came to proue him with darke sentences.2 And she came to Ierusalem with a maruelous greate trayne, with camels which bare spyces, and moch golde, and precious stones And whan she came in to kynge Salomon, she spake vnto him all that was in hir hert.3 And Salomon tolde her euerythinge, and the kynge had nothinge in secrete, but he tolde it her.4 But whan the Quene of riche Arabia sawe all the wy?dome of Salomon, and the house that he had buylded,5 and the meates of his table, and the dwellinges of his seruauntes, & the offyces of his ministers, and their garmentes, and his butlers and the burntofferynges which he offred in the house of the LORDE, she wondred exceadingly, and coulde no longer refrayne,6 but sayde vnto the kynge: It is true that I haue herde in my londe of thy behauoure and of thy wy?dome.7 And I wolde not beleue it, tyll I came and sawe it with myne eyes: and beholde, the halfe hath not bene tolde me. hou hast more wy?dome and good, the the fame is that I haue herde.8 Happye are thy people and thy seruauntes, that allwaie stonde before the, and heare thy wy?dome.9 Praysed be the LORDE thy God, which had soch a pleasure vnto the, that he set the vpon the seate of Israel: because he hath allwaye loued Israel, and hath set the to be kynge, that thou shuldest mantayne iustyce and equyte.10 And she gaue the kynge syxe score hundreth weighte of golde, and very moch spyce, and precious stones. There came neuer so moch spyce thyther, as the Quene of riche Arabia gaue vnto kynge Salomon.11 And Hirams shippes, which caried golde out of Ophir, broughte maruelous moch costly tymber and precious stones from Ophir.12 And of that costly tymber the kynge caused to make pilers in the house of the LORDE, and in ye kinges house, and harpes and Psalteries for the Musicians. There came nomore soch costly tymber, nether was it sene vnto this daye.13 And kynge Salomon gaue the quene of riche Arabia, all that she desyred and axed, besydes that which he gaue her of a frye hande. And she returned, and departed in to hir lande with hir seruauntes.
14 The golde that came to Salomon in one yeare, was nyne and thyrtie score hundreth weighte,15 besydes that which came of chapmen, marchauntes and Apotecaries, and of the nexte kynges, and of the mightie men in the londe.16 And kynge Salomon caused to make two hundreth speares of beaten golde, sixe hundreth peces of golde put he to euery speare:17 and thre hundreth shyldes of ye best golde, euen thre pounde of golde vpon euery shylde. And the kynge put them in the house of the wod of Libanus.18 And the kynge made a greate seate of Yuery, and ouerlayed it with ye most precious golde.19 And the seate had sixe steppes, and ye heade of the seate was roude behynde. And there were two postes to leane vpo on both the sydes of the seate, and two lyons stode vpon the leanynge postes,20 and twolue lyons stode vpon the sixe steppes on both the sydes. Soch one hath not bene made in eny kyngdome.21 All kynge Salomos drynkynge vessels were of golde, and all the vessels in the house of ye wod of Libanus were of pure golde also: for syluer was not regarded in Salomons tyme.22 For the kynges Seeshippe yt sayled vpon the See with ye shippe of Hiram, came once in thre yeare, and broughte golde, syluer, Yuery, Apes, and Pecockes.23 Thus was kynge Salomon greater in riches and wy?dome, then all the kynges vpo earth:24 And all the worlde desyred to se Salomon, that they mighte heare the wy?dome which God gaue him in his hert.25 And they broughte him yearly euery man his present, vessels of syluer and golde, rayment and harnesse, spyces, horses and Mules.26 And Salomon broughte charettes and horsmen together, so that he had a thousande and foure hundreth charettes, and twolue thousande horsmen: and those he put in ye charet cities, and with the kynge at Ierusalem.27 And the kynge broughte it to passe, that there was as moch syluer at Ierusale as stones: and as many Ceders as there were wylde figge trees in the valleys.28 And Salomos horses were broughte out of Egipte, and fro Reua: for the kynges marchauntes fetched them from Reua for money.29 And a charet came vp out of Egipte for sixe hudreth Sycles of Syluer, and an horse for an hudreth and fyftye. Thus were they brought also vnto all the kynges of the Hethites and to the kynges of Siria by their handes.