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1 Kings 10
1599 Geneva Bible

10 1 The Queen of Sheba cometh to hear the wisdom of Solomon. 18 His royal throne. 23 His power and magnificence.

1 And the (A)Queen of [a]Sheba hearing the fame of Solomon (concerning the Name of the Lord) came to prove him with hard questions.

2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, and camels that bare sweet odors, and gold exceeding much, and precious stones: and she came to Solomon, and communed with him of all that was in her heart.

3 And Solomon declared unto her all her questions: nothing was hid from the king, which he expounded not unto her.

4 Then the Queen of Sheba saw all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built,

5 And the [b]meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and his drinking vessels, and his burnt offerings, that he offered in the house of the Lord, and [c]she was greatly astonied.

6 And she said unto the King, It was a true word that I heard in mine own land of thy sayings, and of thy wisdom.

7 Howbeit I believed not this report, till I came, and had seen it with mine eyes: but lo, the one half was not told me: for thou hast more wisdom and prosperity, than I have heard by report.

8 Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand ever before thee, and hear thy [d]wisdom.

9 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which [e]loved thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel, because the Lord loved Israel forever, and made thee king to do [f]equity and righteousness.

10 And she gave the king sixscore talents of gold, and of sweet odors exceeding much, and precious stones. There came no more such abundance of sweet odors, as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11 The navy also of Hiram (that carried gold from Ophir) brought likewise great plenty of (B)Almuggim trees from Ophir, and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the Almuggim trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s palace, and made harps and psalteries for singers. There came no more such Almuggim trees, nor were any more seen unto this day.

13 And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba, whatsoever she would ask, besides that, which Solomon gave her of his [g]kingly liberality: so she returned and went to her own country, both she and her servants.

14 ¶ Also the weight of gold, that came to Solomon in one year, was six hundred threescore and six (C)talents of gold,

15 Besides that he had of merchant men and of the merchandises of them that sold spices, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the princes of the [h]country.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold went to a target:

17 And three hundred shields of beaten gold, three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the King put them in the (D)house of the wood of Lebanon.

18 ¶ Then the King made a great throne of ivory, and covered it with the best gold.

19 And the throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind, and there were [i]stays on either side on the place of the throne, and two lions standing by the stays.

20 And there stood twelve lions on the six steps on either side: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

21 And all King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the wood of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver: for it was nothing esteemed in the days of Solomon

22 For the King had on the sea the navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of [j]Tarshish, and brought gold and silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks.

23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth both in riches and in wisdom.

24 And all the world sought to see Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart,

25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armor, and sweet odors, horses and mules, from year to year.

26 Then Solomon gathered together (E)chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he placed in the chariot cities, and with the King at Jerusalem.

27 And the King [k]gave silver in Jerusalem as stones, and gave cedars as the wild fig trees that grow abundantly in the plain.

28 Also Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and fine linen: [l]the king’s merchants received the linen for a price.

29 There came up and went out of Egypt some chariot worth six hundred shekels of silver: that is, one horse, an hundred and fifty. And thus they brought horses to all the Kings of the Hittites and to the Kings of Aram by their [m]means.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:1 Josephus saith, that she was Queen of Ethiopia, and that Sheba was the name of the chief city of Meroe, which is an island of Nile.
  2. 1 Kings 10:5 That is, the whole order, and trade of his house.
  3. 1 Kings 10:5 Hebrew, there was no more spirit in her.
  4. 1 Kings 10:8 But much more happy are they, which hear the wisdom of God revealed in his word.
  5. 1 Kings 10:9 It is a chief sign of God’s favor, when godly and wise rulers sit in the throne of justice.
  6. 1 Kings 10:9 This is the cause, why Kings are appointed.
  7. 1 Kings 10:13 Hebrew, by the hand of the King.
  8. 1 Kings 10:15 To wit, of Arabia, which for the great abundance of all things was called Happy.
  9. 1 Kings 10:19 As the chair bows, or places to lean upon.
  10. 1 Kings 10:22 By Tarshish is meant Cilicia, which was abundant in variety of precious things.
  11. 1 Kings 10:27 Or, he made silver as plenteous as stones.
  12. 1 Kings 10:28 Or, for the company of the King’s merchants did receive a number at a price.
  13. 1 Kings 10:29 Hebrew, hands.
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1 Kings 10
New International Version

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)

10 When the queen of Sheba(B) heard about the fame(C) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.(D) 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan(E)—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. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table,(F) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe(G) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth(H) you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear(I) your wisdom! 9 Praise(J) 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(K) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice(L) and righteousness.”

10 And she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold,(M) 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.

11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;(N) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[c] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[d] 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.)

13 King 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.

Solomon’s Splendor(O)

14 The weight of the gold(P) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[e] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields(Q) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[f] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(R)

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The 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. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.(S) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[h](T) at sea along with the ships(U) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches(V) and wisdom(W) than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom(X) God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(Y)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;(Z) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[i] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common(AA) in Jerusalem as stones,(AB) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig(AC) trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[j]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[k] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites(AD) and of the Arameans.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to
  2. 1 Kings 10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12
  4. 1 Kings 10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  6. 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
  7. 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
  8. 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish
  9. 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
  10. 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
  11. 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms
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