1 Kings 10
1 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame because of the name of the LORD, and came to test him with riddles.
2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind.
3 Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was hidden from the king; there was nothing he could not explain to her.
4 When the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built,
5 the food at his table, the places where his officials sat, the service of his attendants and their clothing, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, she was left breathless.
6 She said to the king, “What I heard in my land about your words and your wisdom was true.
7 I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. I had not even been told half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.
8 How happy your men must be! How happy these servants of yours must be, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom!
9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who was pleased with you and placed you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loves Israel forever, he has made you king to administer justice and righteousness.”
10 She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Hiram’s fleet, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very great quantity of almug wood and precious stones.
12 The king used the almug wood to make railings for the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and lyres and harps for the singers. No almug wood like it ever came again or was seen to this day.
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked for, besides what he gave her out of his royal generosity. Then she and her servants turned back and returned to her own land.
14 The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents.
15 This was in addition to what came from the merchants, the trade of the traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each large shield.
17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king placed them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with fine gold.
19 The throne had six steps, and its back was rounded at the top. There were armrests on either side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the armrests.
20 Twelve lions stood there on the six steps, one on each side. Nothing like it had been made in any kingdom.
21 All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the vessels in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver; in Solomon’s days it was considered worthless.
22 For the king had a fleet of Tarshish ships at sea along with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish ships arrived, carrying gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
23 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.
24 The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.
25 Each person brought a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This happened year after year.
26 Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as the sycamore trees of the Shephelah.
28 Solomon’s horses came from Egypt and Kue. The king’s merchants bought them in Kue at a set price.
29 A chariot imported from Egypt cost 600 shekels of silver, and a horse cost 150. In the same way, they were exported through these merchants to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app