| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. | 1When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. |
| 2She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. | 2She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. |
| 3So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. | 3Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. |
| 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, | 4When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon's extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, |
| 5the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. | 5the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants, their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the LORD's temple, she was amazed. |
| 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 wise sayings and insight was true! |
| 7However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. | 7I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn't hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me. |
| 8Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! | 8Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! |
| 9Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” | 9May the LORD your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions." |
| 10Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. | 10She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. |
| 11Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. | 11(Hiram's fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. |
| 12And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. | 12With the timber the king made supports for the LORD's temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.) |
| 13Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. | 13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants. |
| 14The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, | 14Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, |
| 15besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country. | 15besides what he collected from the merchants, traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. |
| 16And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. | 16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield. |
| 17He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. | 17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. |
| 18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. | 18The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. |
| 19The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. | 19There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. |
| 20Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. | 20There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. |
| 21All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. | 21All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon's time. |
| 22For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. | 22Along with Hiram's fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. |
| 23So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. | 23King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. |
| 24Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. | 24Everyone in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. |
| 25Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. | 25Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. |
| 26And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. | 26Solomon accumulated chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. |
| 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. | 27The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. |
| 28Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. | 28Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt and from Que; the king's traders purchased them from Que. |
| 29Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. | 29They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. |
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