1 Kings 10

1And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

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

3And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.footnote a

4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built,

5And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.footnote bfootnote c

6And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.footnote dfootnote e

7Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.footnote f

8Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

9Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.footnote g

12And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.footnote h

13And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.footnote i

14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

15Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.footnote j

16And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.

17And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.

19The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.footnote kfootnote l

20And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.footnote m

21And 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 were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.footnote n

22For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.footnote o

23So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

24And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.footnote p

25And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

26And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

27And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.footnote q

28And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.footnote r

29And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.footnote s

The Queen of Sheba

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. 2She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.
And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind. 3And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.

4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, 5the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

6She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true. 7But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard. 8How blessed are your men!footnote a How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

10Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold,footnote b a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almugfootnote c wood and precious stones. 12The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)

13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

14The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,footnote d 15not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of goldfootnote e went into each shield. 17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of goldfootnote f went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 19The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest. 20Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

21All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22For the king had the ships of Tarshishfootnote g at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.footnote h

23So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 24The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart. 25Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

26Solomon accumulatedfootnote i 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses,footnote j which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.footnote k

28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue;footnote l the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. 29A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,footnote m and a horse for a hundred and fifty.footnote n Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.