9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, 1 she came to challenge 2 him 3 with difficult questions. 4 She arrived in Jerusalem 5 with a great display of pomp, 6 bringing with her camels carrying spices, 7 a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 9:2 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 8 9:3 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, 9 the palace 10 he had built, 9:4 the food in his banquet hall, 11 his servants and attendants 12 in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, 13 she was amazed. 14 9:5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight 15 was true! 9:6 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! 16 Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. 9:7 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! 17 9:8 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored 18 you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! 19 Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, 20 he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” 21 9:9 She gave the king 120 talents 22 of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 23 9:10 (Huram’s 24 servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as 25 fine 26 timber and precious gems. 9:11 With the timber the king made steps 27 for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments 28 for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that. 29 ) 9:12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. 30 Then she left and returned 31 to her homeland with her attendants.
9:13 Solomon received 666 talents 32 of gold per year, 33 9:14 besides what he collected from the merchants 34 and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 9:15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures 35 of hammered gold were used for each shield. 9:16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures 36 of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. 37
9:17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 9:18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. 38 The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 39 9:19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. 40
9:20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 41 9:21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships 42 manned by Huram’s men 43 that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet 44 came into port with cargoes of 45 gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 46
9:22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 47
1 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
2 tn Or “test.”
3 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
4 tn Or “riddles.”
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
7 tn Or “balsam oil.”
8 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
9 tn Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”
10 tn Heb “house.”
11 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
12 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
13 tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the
14 tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
15 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
16 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
17 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
18 tn Or “delighted in.”
19 tn Heb “as king for the
20 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
21 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
22 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
23 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
24 tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew
25 tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
26 tn Heb “algum.”
27 tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
28 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
29 tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
30 tn Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
31 tn Heb “turned and went.”
32 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
33 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 units of gold.”
34 tn Heb “traveling men.”
35 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
36 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
37 sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
38 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
39 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
40 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
41 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
42 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish with the servants of Huram.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
43 tn Heb “servants.”
44 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
45 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
46 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
47 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”