1 Kings

And 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.

1The queen of Sheba lived in a faraway land. She heard how famous Solomon was, and how the LORD had made him wise. So she came to test 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.

2She came to Jerusalem with a very large group of travelers. Her camels carried spices, lots of gold, and beautiful stones. When she met Solomon, she told him everything she was thinking about.

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

3Solomon answered every one of her questions. Nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.

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

4The queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was. She also saw the palace 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.

5She saw the food on his table and where his helpers sat. She saw his servants at work, and their fine clothes, and the men who poured his drinks. She saw the gifts he brought to the LORD's house. It took her breath away.

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.

6She said to the king, "What I heard back home was true. People told me about your words and your wisdom."

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.

7"I did not believe it until I came and saw it myself. They did not tell me even half of it! You are wiser and richer than the stories said."

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

8"How happy your men must be! How happy are these servants who stand near you every day and hear you speak."

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.

9"Praise the LORD your God! He was glad to put you on the throne of Israel. The LORD loves Israel forever. So he made you king, to be fair and to do what is right."

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.

10She gave the king 120 talents of gold. She also gave many spices and beautiful stones. Never again did so many spices come as the ones she gave Solomon.

NoteA talent was a way to weigh things, about 75 pounds. So 120 talents of gold was thousands of pounds of gold.

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

11King Hiram's ships brought gold from a place called Ophir. They also brought lots of almug wood and beautiful stones from there.

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.

12The king used the almug wood to make steps for the LORD's house and his own palace. He also made harps and other music instruments for the singers. Wood like that never came again, and no one has seen it since.

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.

13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. He also gave her more gifts from his own riches. Then she and her servants went back home to her own country.

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

14Each year, Solomon was given 666 talents of gold. That is a huge amount 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.

15That did not even count the money he got from traders and spice sellers. It also did not count the gifts from the kings of Arabia and the local rulers.

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

16King Solomon made two hundred large shields out of hammered gold. Each shield used six hundred shekels of gold.

NoteA shekel was a small weight, about half an ounce. Six hundred shekels is close to fifteen pounds.

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.

17He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold. Each one used about three pounds of gold. He put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon, a big hall in his palace built with cedar wood.

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

18The king also made a great throne, a king's chair, out of ivory. He covered it with the finest 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.

19The throne had six steps, and its back had a round top. There were arm rests on both sides of the seat. A carved lion stood beside each arm rest.

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.

20Twelve carved lions stood on the six steps, one at each end. No other kingdom ever had a throne like it.

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.

21All of King Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold. Every dish in the House of the Forest of Lebanon was pure gold. None of them were silver. In Solomon's day, silver was not worth much.

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.

22The king had big trading ships at sea, sailing with Hiram's ships. Once every three years they came back. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

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

23So King Solomon had more riches and more wisdom than any other king on earth.

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

24People from everywhere wanted to come and see Solomon. They wanted to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

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.

25Year after year, every visitor brought him a gift. They brought silver and gold things, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

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.

26Solomon collected chariots, which are carts pulled by horses, and men to drive them. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in special cities and with him in 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.

27The king made silver as easy to find in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar wood as common as the sycamore trees in the low hills.

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

28Solomon's horses were brought from Egypt and from a place called Kue. The king's traders bought them there and paid for them.

NoteThe King James Bible says "linen yarn" here. That old wording is really the name of a place, Kue, where horses were bought.

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.

29A chariot from Egypt cost six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse cost a hundred fifty. Solomon's traders also sold them to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.