1When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.2Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan – with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones – she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind.3Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built,5the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[1] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.6She said to the king, ‘The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.7But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.8How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!9Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.’10And she gave the king 120 talents[2] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.11(Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almug-wood[3] and precious stones.12The king used the almug-wood to make supports[4] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almug-wood has never been imported or seen since that day.)13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon’s splendour
14The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[5]15not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[6] of gold went into each shield.17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[7] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.18Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.19The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.20Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.21All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days.22The king had a fleet of trading ships[8] at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.23King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.24The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.25Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift – articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.26Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[9] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[10] – the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price.29They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[11] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
1 Kings 10
King James Version
1And 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.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.3And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon' wisdom, and the house that 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.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.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.8Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.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.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.11And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.12And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king' house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.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.14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents 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.16And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.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.18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best 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.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.21And all king Solomon' 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.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.23So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.24And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which 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.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.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.28And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king' merchants received the linen yarn at a price.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.
1Und die Königin von Saba hörte von Salomos Ruf ⟨und von dem Haus, das er gebaut hatte⟩ für den Namen des HERRN. Da kam sie, um ihn mit Rätsel⟨frage⟩n auf die Probe zu stellen. (Jud 14:12; 1Ki 5:14; 1Ki 10:24; Job 6:19; Mt 12:42)2Und sie kam nach Jerusalem mit einem sehr zahlreichen Gefolge[1], mit Kamelen, die Balsamöle und Gold trugen in sehr großer Menge und Edelsteine. Und sie kam zu Salomo und redete zu ihm alles, was in ihrem Herzen war. (Ps 72:10; Eze 27:22)3Und Salomo beantwortete ihr all ihre Fragen[2]. Nichts war vor dem König verborgen, das er ihr nicht hätte beantworten können[3]. (1Ki 3:12)4Und als die Königin von Saba all die Weisheit Salomos sah und das Haus, das er gebaut hatte,5und die Speise ⟨auf⟩ seiner Tafel und die Sitzordnung[4] seiner Knechte und die Aufwartung seiner Diener und ihre Kleidung und seine Getränke[5] und sein Brandopfer, das er im Haus des HERRN opferte, da geriet sie vor Staunen außer sich[6]6und sagte zum König: Das Wort ist Wahrheit gewesen, das ich in meinem Land über deine Taten[7] und über deine Weisheit gehört habe!7Ich habe den Worten nicht geglaubt, bis ich gekommen bin und meine Augen es gesehen haben. Doch siehe, nicht die Hälfte ist mir berichtet worden! Du hast an Weisheit und Gütern die Kunde übertroffen, die ich gehört habe. (Ps 48:9)8Glücklich sind deine Männer[8], glücklich diese deine Knechte, die ständig vor dir stehen, die deine Weisheit hören! (1Ki 12:6; Pr 8:34; Mt 13:16)9Gepriesen sei der HERR, dein Gott, der Gefallen an dir gehabt hat, dich auf den Thron Israels zu setzen! Weil der HERR Israel ewig liebt, hat er dich als König eingesetzt, damit du Recht und Gerechtigkeit übst. (De 7:8; 2Sa 5:12; 2Sa 8:15; 1Ki 3:28; 1Ki 5:21; Ps 72:2; Isa 9:6; Jer 31:3; Mal 1:2)10Und sie gab dem König 120 Talente Gold und Balsamöle in sehr großer Menge und Edelsteine. Nie wieder kam so viel Balsamöl ⟨ins Land⟩ wie dieses, das die Königin von Saba dem König Salomo gab. –11Auch die Flotte Hirams, die Gold aus Ofir holte, brachte aus Ofir Almuggimhölzer in sehr großer Menge und Edelsteine. (1Ki 9:27; 2Ch 2:7)12Und der König machte von den Almuggimhölzern ein Geländer[9] für das Haus des HERRN und für das Haus des Königs und Zithern und Harfen für die Sänger. Nie ⟨mehr⟩ kam so ⟨viel⟩ Almuggimholz ⟨ins Land⟩, noch wurde ⟨jemals wieder so viel⟩ gesehen bis zum heutigen Tag. – (1Ch 25:1)13Der König Salomo aber gab der Königin von Saba alles, was sie sich wünschte[10], was sie erbeten hatte, abgesehen von dem, was er ihr ⟨schon⟩ gegeben hatte nach der Freigebigkeit[11] des Königs Salomo. Und sie wandte sich und zog in ihr Land, sie und ihre Knechte. (2Ch 9:13; Eph 3:20)
Salomos Reichtum
14Und das Gewicht des Goldes, das bei Salomo in einem einzigen Jahr einging, betrug 666 Talente Gold (1Ki 9:28)15außer dem, was von den Handelsleuten und dem Gewinn[12] der Händler und von allen Königen Arabiens[13] und den Statthaltern des Landes ⟨einging⟩. (Jer 25:24)16Und der König Salomo machte zweihundert Langschilde aus legiertem Gold[14] – ⟨mit⟩ sechshundert ⟨Beka⟩ Gold überzog er jeden Langschild – (2Sa 8:7; 1Ki 14:26)17und dreihundert Kleinschilde aus legiertem Gold[15], ⟨mit⟩ drei Minen Gold überzog er jeden Kleinschild. Und der König gab sie in das Libanonwaldhaus. (1Ki 7:2; Isa 22:8)18Und der König machte einen großen Thron aus Elfenbein und überzog ihn mit reinem Gold.19Sechs Stufen hatte der Thron, und einen runden Kopf[16] hatte der Thron auf seiner Rückseite; und Armlehnen waren auf dieser und auf jener Seite am Sitzplatz, und zwei Löwen standen neben den Armlehnen;20und zwölf Löwen standen da auf den sechs Stufen, auf dieser und auf jener Seite. Niemals ist so ⟨etwas⟩ gemacht worden für irgendwelche ⟨anderen⟩ Königreiche.21Und alle Trinkgefäße des Königs Salomo waren aus Gold, und alle Geräte des Libanonwaldhauses waren aus gediegenem Gold. Silber galt in den Tagen Salomos überhaupt nichts. (De 17:17; Es 1:7)22Denn der König hatte Tarsisschiffe auf dem Meer ⟨, die fuhren⟩ mit den Schiffen Hirams. Einmal in drei Jahren kamen die Tarsisschiffe, beladen mit Gold und Silber, Elfenbein und Affen und Pavianen[17]. (1Ki 22:49; 2Ch 20:36; Eze 27:12)23So war der König Salomo größer als alle Könige der Erde an Reichtum und an Weisheit. (1Ki 3:12; Ec 2:9)24Und die ganze Erde suchte das Angesicht Salomos, um seine Weisheit zu hören, die Gott in sein Herz gegeben hatte. (1Ki 3:9; 1Ki 10:1; 2Ch 1:11; Pr 2:6)25Und sie brachten jeder sein Geschenk: Geräte aus Silber und Geräte aus Gold und Gewänder und Waffen und Balsamöle, Pferde und Maultiere; so geschah es Jahr für Jahr[18]. (2Ch 1:14; Ps 72:10)26Und Salomo brachte Streitwagen und Pferde zusammen, und er hatte 1 400 Streitwagen und 12 000 Pferde; und er legte sie[19] in die Wagenstädte und zu dem König nach Jerusalem. (1Ki 5:6)27Und der König machte das Silber in Jerusalem ⟨an Menge⟩ den Steinen gleich, und die Zedern machte er an Menge den Maulbeerfeigenbäumen gleich, die in der Niederung[20] ⟨wachsen⟩.28Und die Ausfuhr der Pferde für Salomo ⟨erfolgte⟩ aus Ägypten[21] und aus Koe. Die Aufkäufer des Königs holten ⟨sie⟩ aus Koe[22] gegen Bezahlung.29Bei der Ausfuhr aus Ägypten wurde ein Wagen für 600 ⟨Schekel⟩ Silber gehandelt[23] und ein Pferd für 150. Und so führte man ⟨sie⟩ für alle Könige der Hetiter und für die Könige von Aram durch die Aufkäufer[24] ⟨wieder⟩ aus. (Jos 1:4; 2Ki 7:6)