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The First Book of Kings 10

10 The queen who ruled the land of Sheba heard that Solomon had great understanding of what Yahweh was like. She wanted to know whether what she had heard about him was true. So she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him the many difficult questions she had about God. 2 She brought many of her officials with her in a large caravan. The camels were carrying spices, gemstones, and much gold as gifts for Solomon. Solomon welcomed her, and she asked him about everything she wanted to know. 3 Solomon answered all of her questions. Not one of her questions was too difficult for him to answer. 4 The Queen recognized that Solomon was very wise. She toured his palace, 5 and she saw the food that he served. She saw how his many officials sat in different places of honor at meals. She saw how the waiters and cupbearers wore splendid uniforms. She also saw the many animals that he brought to the temple for the priests to burn completely as sacrifices. All of this overwhelmed her. 6 She told King Solomon, “Everything that I heard back in my own country about how wisely you speak is true! 7 But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it for myself. Indeed, what people told me was only half of what they could have told me about you. You are much wiser and wealthier than people told me. 8 How fortunate are your subjects! And how fortunate are your servants, who are always standing around you and listening to the wise things that you say! 9 I praise Yahweh, your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by making you the king of Israel! Yahweh has always loved the Israelite people, and so he has appointed you to be a king who will rule them righteously.” 10 The Queen of Sheba gave King Solomon as gifts from what she had brought over 4,000 kilograms of gold, many gemstones, and a very large amount of spices. The spices that she gave to Solomon were the greatest quantity of spices that anyone ever brought to Jerusalem.

11 (Solomon had built a fleet of ships that King Hiram’s men sailed. Solomon built the ships to get gold from Ophir. But the crews also brought a large amount of sandalwood and many gemstones back from Ophir. 12 King Solomon told his workers to use that wood to make furnishings for the temple and for his palace. He also told them to use it to make harps and lyres for the temple musicians. No one had ever brought so much sandalwood to Israel before, and no one has brought so much sandalwood to Israel since then.)

13 The Queen of Sheba admired many things in Jerusalem and asked for them, and Solomon gave them to her. He also gave her other generous gifts from his own riches. Then she and the people who had come with her returned to their own land.

14 Each year Solomon received over 22 metric tons of gold in tribute from kingdoms that he controlled. 15 In addition to that, merchants and traders who traveled through and within Israel paid him duties and tolls. Arabian kings also often sent him gifts of gold, and the district governors submitted the taxes they collected in gold. 16 King Solomon told his workers to take gold and hammer it into thin sheets and cover 200 large shields with those thin sheets of gold. They used nearly seven kilograms of gold to make each shield. 17 He also told his workers to make 300 smaller shields. They covered each of them with about one and a half kilograms of gold. King Solomon put all of those shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 He also had his workers make a large throne for him. The workers inlaid this throne with ivory, and they framed the ivory with borders of very fine gold. 19 There were six steps in front of the throne. The back of the throne was rounded at the top. On each side of the throne, there was an armrest. There was a statue of a lion next to each armrest. 20 There was also a statue of a lion on both sides of each step. So altogether there were 12 statues of lions. There was no throne like this one in any other kingdom. 21 King Solomon and his court officials drank from gold cups. His craftsmen also made all of the dishes for the House of the Forest of Lebanon by hammering out gold. They did not make any of these things from silver. That metal was so common during the time when Solomon ruled that people did not consider it to be valuable. 22 King Solomon had a fleet of ships that were able to sail out on the sea. That is where King Hiram’s ships also sailed from Tyre. The ships would sail to many different ports for three years. At the end of that time, they would bring back gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

23 King Solomon became the richest and wisest king in the world. 24 People from many different places wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said about matters that God had enabled him to understand. 25 All the people who came to him brought presents. They brought articles made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons, or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every year.

26 Solomon acquired a great force of chariots and riders. In his army, he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men who rode on horses. Solomon had built special cities in which to keep chariots, and he kept many of his chariots in them. But he also kept some chariots with him in Jerusalem. 27 During the years that Solomon was king, silver became very common in Jerusalem, just as stones are common. Cedar wood became very plentiful, just as the wood is plentiful that comes from the sycamore trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. 28 Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Kue. His purchasing agents would go to Kue and buy horses there at the current price. 29 In Egypt, his agents bought both horses and chariots. They paid about seven kilograms of silver for each chariot and about two kilograms of silver for each horse. Agents of Solomon would then resell many of the horses and chariots to Hittite and Aramean kings.

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UST by section 1 KI 10:1

The First Book of Kings 10

UST by section 1 KI 10:1