10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon,1 she came to challenge2 him with difficult questions.3 10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem4 with a great deal of pomp,5 bringing with her camels carrying spices,6 a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 10:3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king.7 10:4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom,8 the palace9 he had built, 10:5 the food in his banquet hall,10 his servants and attendants,11 their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed.12 10:6 She said to the king, “The report I heard back home13 about your wise sayings and insight14 was true. 10:7 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!15 Your wisdom and wealth16 surpass what was reported to me. 10:8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy!17 10:9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored18 you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you might make just and right decisions.”19 10:10 She gave the king one hundred twenty units20 of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.21 10:11 (Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. 10:12 With the timber the king made supports22 for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments23 for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.24) 10:13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her.25 Then she left and returned26 to her homeland with her attendants.
Solomon’s Wealth
10:14 Solomon received six hundred sixty-six units27 of gold per year,28 10:15 besides what he collected from the merchants,29 traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 10:16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred measures30 of gold were used for each shield. 10:17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas31 of gold were used for each shield. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.32
10:18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 10:19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.33 10:20 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.34
10:21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.35 10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large ships36 that traveled the sea. Once every three years the fleet37 came into port with38 gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.39
10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.40 10:24 Everyone41 in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.42 10:25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.43
10:26 Solomon accumulated44 chariots and horses. He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.45 10:27 The king made silver as plentiful46 in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was47 as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands.48 10:28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt49 and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 10:29 They paid six hundred silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and one hundred fifty silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.50
The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry