1 Kings 10:1-13

Amplified Bible

The Queen of Sheba

10 Now when the queen of ^[a]Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with riddles. ²So she came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan (entourage), with camels carrying spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her mind [to discover the extent of his wisdom]. ³Solomon ^[b]answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. ⁴When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house (palace) which he had built, ⁵the food on his table, the seating of his servants (court officials), the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, his ^[c]stairway by which he went up to the house (temple) of the Lord, she was breathless and awed [by the wonder of it all]. ⁶Then she told the king, “The report which I heard in my own land about your words and wisdom is true! ⁷I did not believe the report until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of it was not told to me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. ⁸How blessed (fortunate, happy) are your men! How blessed are these your servants who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom! ⁹Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, He made you king to execute justice and righteousness.” ¹⁰She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again did such an abundance of spices come in [to Israel] as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

¹¹Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood (sandalwood) and precious stones. ¹²From the almug wood (sandalwood) the king made pillars for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Such almug wood did not come in [to Israel] again, nor has it been seen to this day.

¹³King Solomon [in turn] gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her ^[d]from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

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Footnotes

1 Kings 10:1 The location of this ancient kingdom is uncertain, but may have included portions of modern Yemen and Ethiopia. The imperial family of Ethiopia claimed descent from a son supposedly born to Solomon and the queen of Sheba; however, there is no biblical evidence to support this claim. Ongoing archeological discoveries in Mareb, Yemen (Awam Temple) may support the area’s connection to the reign of the queen of Sheba. It has been suggested that she ruled southern Arabia and that the area being excavated was the capital of the Kingdom of Sheba.
1 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words.
1 Kings 10:5 Lit going up; or his burnt offering which he offered at.
1 Kings 10:13 Lit according to the hand of King Solomon. Following ancient custom for nobility and royalty, the king was obligated to give a visitor (especially a visiting dignitary) a greater gift than he received from the visitor. Solomon went far beyond custom in lavishing gifts on the queen.

2 Chronicles 9:1-12

Amplified Bible

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

9 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She was accompanied by a very large number of attendants, with camels bearing spices (balsam oil) and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her mind. ²Solomon ^[a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from him which he did not make clear to her. ³So when the queen of Sheba saw the [depth of] Solomon’s wisdom, and the house which he had built, ⁴and the food of his table, the [vast] seating order of his officials, the attendance and service of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his ^[b]stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless. ⁵She said to the king, “The report which I heard in my own land regarding your [accomplishments and your] words and your wisdom was true, ⁶but I did not believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told to me; you have surpassed the report that I heard. ⁷Blessed and fortunate are your people, how blessed and fortunate are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! ⁸Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; because your God loved Israel, establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” ⁹Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, a very large amount of spices (balsam oil) and precious stones; there was no such spice [anywhere] like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰The servants of Huram and those of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought almug trees and precious stones. ¹¹From the almug timber the king made ^[c]stairways for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.

¹²King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all [the things] she desired, whatever she asked, ^[d]besides a return for what she had brought to the king. So she returned to her own land with her servants.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 9:2 Lit told...her words.
2 Chronicles 9:4 Or burnt offerings which he offered at.
2 Chronicles 9:11 Or terraces.
2 Chronicles 9:12 Following tradition, Solomon wanted his royal visitor to leave with a greater gift than she had given him.