The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(A)Now when the ^(B)queen of ^(C)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came ^(D)to test him with difficult questions. ² So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels ^(E)carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. ³ Solomon ^[a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not ^[b]explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and ^[c]his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. ⁶ Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ Nevertheless I did not believe the ^[d]reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. ⁸ How ^(F)blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. ^9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; ^(H)because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, ^(I)to do justice and righteousness.” ^10 (J)She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

9 ^(A)Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She had a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart. ² Solomon ^[a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from Solomon which he did not ^[b]explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, ⁴ the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and ^[c]his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless. ⁵ Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁶ Nevertheless I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You surpass the report that I heard. ⁷ How ^[d]blessed are your men, how ^[e]blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. ⁸ Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, ^(B)setting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; ^(C)because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” ⁹ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones; there had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon ^(D)who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones. ¹¹ From the algum trees the king made steps for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her own land with her servants.