| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. | 1When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. |
| 2So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. | 2Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan--with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones--she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. |
| 3Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. | 3Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. |
| 4When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, | 4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, |
| 5the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. | 5the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed. |
| 6Then she said to the king, "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. | 6She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. |
| 7"Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. | 7But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. |
| 8"How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. | 8How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! |
| 9"Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness." | 9Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness." |
| 10She gave the king a hundred and twenty 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. | 10And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. |
| 11Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. | 11(Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. |
| 12The king made of the almug trees supports for the house of the LORD 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. | 12The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.) |
| 13King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land together with her servants. | 13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country. |
| 14Now the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, | 14The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, |
| 15besides that from the traders and the wares of the merchants and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the country. | 15not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories. |
| 16King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. | 16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. |
| 17He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. | 17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. |
| 18Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. | 18Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. |
| 19There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. | 19The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. |
| 20Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. | 20Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. |
| 21All 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 valuable in the days of Solomon. | 21All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days. |
| 22For the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. | 22The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. |
| 23So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. | 23King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. |
| 24All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. | 24The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. |
| 25They brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. | 25Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift--articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules. |
| 26Now Solomon 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. | 26Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. |
| 27The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland. | 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. |
| 28Also Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's merchants procured them from Kue for a price. | 28Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue --the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. |
| 29A chariot was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans. | 29They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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