The Queen of Sheba (2 Chronicles 9:1–12)
1 UST The queen who ruled the land of Sheba heard that Solomon had great understanding of what Yahweh was like. She wanted to know whether what she had heard about him was true. So she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him the many difficult questions she had{ about God}. BSB BSB: Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
2 UST She brought many of her officials with her in a large caravan. The camels were carrying spices, gemstones, and much gold{ as gifts for Solomon}. Solomon welcomed her, and she asked him about everything she wanted to know. BSB BSB: She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.
3 UST Solomon answered all of her questions. Not one of her questions was too difficult for him to answer. BSB BSB: And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.
4 UST The Queen recognized that Solomon was very wise. She toured his palace, BSB BSB: When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,
5 UST and she saw the food that he served. She saw how his many officials sat in different places of honor at meals. She saw how the waiters and cupbearers wore splendid uniforms. She also saw the many animals that he brought to the temple for the priests to burn completely as sacrifices. What she saw overwhelmed her. BSB BSB: the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
6 UST She told King Solomon,“Everything that I heard back in my own country about how wisely you speak is true! BSB BSB: She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.
7 UST But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it for myself. Indeed, what people told me was only half of what they could have told me about you. You are much wiser and wealthier than people told me. BSB BSB: But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard.
8 UST How fortunate are your subjects! And how fortunate are your servants, who are always standing around you and listen to the wise things that you say! BSB BSB: How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
9 UST I praise Yahweh, your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by making you the king of Israel! Yahweh has always loved the Israelite people, and so he has appointed you to be a king who will rule them fairly and righteously.” BSB BSB: Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
10 UST The Queen of Sheba gave King Solomon{ as gifts from what she had brought} over 4, 000 kilograms of gold, many gemstones, and a very large amount of spices. The spices that she gave to Solomon were the greatest quantity of spices that anyone ever brought to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 UST (Solomon had built a fleet of ships that King Hiram’ s men sailed. Solomon built the ships to get gold from Ophir. But the crews also brought a large amount of sandalwood and many gemstones back from Ophir. BSB BSB: (The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.
12 UST King Solomon had his workers use that wood to make furnishings for the temple and for his palace. He also had them it to make harps and lyres for the temple musicians. No one had ever brought such sandalwood to Israel before, and no one has brought s uch sandalwood to Israel since then.) BSB BSB: The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)
13 UST The Queen of Sheba admired many things in Jerusalem and asked for them, and Solomon gave them to her. He also gave her other generous gifts from his own riches. Then she and the officials who had come with her returned to their own land. BSB BSB: King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.
Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor (2 Chronicles 1:14–17; 2 Chronicles 9:13–28)
14 UST Each year Solomon received over 22 metric tons of gold in tribute from kingdoms that he controlled. BSB BSB: The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,
15 UST In addition to that, merchants and traders who traveled through and within Israel paid him duties and tolls. Arabian kings also often sent him gifts of gold, and the district governors submitted the taxes they collected in gold. BSB BSB: not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.
16 UST King Solomon told his workers to take gold and hammer it{ into thin sheets and cover} 200 large shields with{ those thin sheets of} gold. They used nearly seven kilograms of gold to make each large shield. BSB BSB: King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
17 UST He also told his workers to make 300 smaller shields. They covered each of them with about one and a half kilograms of gold. King Solomon put all of those shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. BSB BSB: He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 UST He also had his workers make a large throne for him. The workers inlaid this throne with ivory, and they framed the ivory with borders of very fine gold. BSB BSB: Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
19 UST There were six steps in front of the throne. The back of the throne was rounded at the top. There was an armrest on each side of the throne. There was a statue of a lion next to each armrest. BSB BSB: The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
20 UST There was also a statue of a lion on both sides of each step. So altogether there were 12 statues of lions. There was no throne like this one in any other kingdom. BSB BSB: Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
21 UST King Solomon and his court officials drank only from gold cups. His craftsmen also made all of the dishes for the House of the Forest of Lebanon by hammering out gold. They did not make any of these things from silver. That metal was so common during the time when Solomon ruled that people did not consider it to be valuable. BSB BSB: All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
22 UST They had so much gold because King Solomon had a fleet of ships that were able to sail out on the sea. That is where King Hiram’ s ships also sailed{ from Tyre}. The ships would sail to many different ports for three years. At the end of that time, they would bring back gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks. BSB BSB: For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23 UST King Solomon became the richest and wisest king in the world. BSB BSB: So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
24 UST People from many different places came to listen to the wise things that Solomon said about matters that God had enabled him to understand. BSB BSB: The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
25 UST Each of the people who came to him brought presents. They brought articles made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons, or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every year. BSB BSB: Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
27 UST During the years that Solomon was king, silver became very common in Jerusalem, just as stones are common. Cedar wood became very plentiful, just as the wood is plentiful that comes from the sycamore trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. BSB BSB: The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.
28 UST Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Kue. His purchasing agents would go to Kue and buy horses there at the current price. BSB BSB: Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
29 UST In Egypt, his agents bought both horses and chariots. They paid about seven kilograms of silver for each chariot and about two kilograms of silver for each horse. Agents of Solomon would then resell many of the horses and chariots to Hittite and Aramean kings. BSB BSB: A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
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