2 Chronicles 9:4-6

9:4 the food in his banquet hall, ¹  his servants and attendants ²  in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, ³  she was amazed. ⁴  9:5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight ⁵  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! ⁶  Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me.

2 Chronicles 9:20-22

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. ⁷  9:21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships ⁸  manned by Huram’s men ⁹  that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet ¹⁰  came into port with cargoes of ¹¹  gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ¹² 

9:22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. ¹³ 

¹ tn Heb “the food on his table.”

² tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”

³ tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the Lord.” But עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper room”) should be emended to עֹלָתוֹ, (’olato, “his burnt sacrifice[s]”). See the parallel account in 1 Kgs 10:5.

⁴ tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”

⁵ tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”

⁶ tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”

⁷ tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn Heb “servants.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”

¹¹ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”

¹² tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”

¹³ tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”