Chapter 9

¹ And the queen of Saba heard of the name of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem with a very large force, to prove Solomon with hard questions, and she had camels bearing spices in abundance, and gold, and precious ¹stones: and she came to Solomon, and told him all that was in her ²mind. ² And Solomon told her all her words; and there passed not a word from Solomon which he told her not.

³ And the queen of Saba saw the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, ⁴ and the ³meat of the tables, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their raiment; and his cupbearers, and their apparel; and the whole-burnt-offerings which he offered up in the house of the Lord; then she was in ecstasy. ⁵ And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in my land concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. ⁶ Yet I believed not the reports until I came, and my eyes saw: and, behold, the half of the abundance of thy wisdom was not told me: thou hast exceeded the report which I heard. ⁷ Blessed are thy men, blessed are these thy servants, who stand before thee continually, and hear thy wisdom. ⁸ Blessed be the Lord thy God, who took pleasure in thee, to set thee upon his throne for a king, to the Lord thy God: forasmuch as the Lord thy God loved Israel to establish them for ever, therefore he has set thee over them for a king to execute judgment and justice. ⁹ And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones: and there were not any where else such spices as those which the queen of Saba gave king Solomon.

¹⁰ And the servants of Solomon and the servants of Chiram brought gold to Solomon out of Suphir, and pine timber, and precious stones. ¹¹ And the king made of the pine

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timber steps to the house of the Lord, and to the king's house, and harps and lutes for the singers: and such were not seen before in the land of Juda. ¹² And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she requested, besides all that she brought to king Solomon: and she returned to her own land.

¹³ And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, ¹⁴ besides what the men who were regularly appointed and the merchants brought, and all the kings of Arabia and princes of the land: all brought gold and silver to king Solomon. ¹⁵ And king Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold: there were six hundred shekels of pure gold to one shield. ¹⁶ And three hundred buckles of beaten gold: the weight of three hundred gold shekels went to one buckler: and the king placed them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ And the king made a great throne of ivory, and he gilded it with pure gold. ¹⁸ And there were six steps to the throne, riveted with gold, and elbows on either side of the seat of the throne, and two lions standing by the elbows: ¹⁹ and twelve lions standing there on the six steps on each side. There was not the like in any other kingdom.

²⁰ And all king Solomon's vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were covered with gold: silver was not thought anything of in the days of Solomon. ²¹ For ⁴a ship went for the king to Tharsis with the servants of Chiram: once every three years came vessels from Tharsis to the king, laden with gold, and silver, and ⁵ivory, and apes.

²² And Solomon exceeded all other kings both in riches and wisdom. ²³ And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁴ And they brought every one his gifts, silver vessels and golden vessels, and raiment, ⁶myrrh and spices, horses and mules, a rate every year.

²⁵ And Solomon had four thousand mares for chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he put them in the chariot cities, and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ And he rules over all the kings from the river even to the land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt. ²⁷ And the king made gold and silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as the sycamore trees in the plain for abundance. ²⁸ And Solomon imported horses from Egypt, and from every other country.

²⁹ And the rest of the acts of Solomon, the first and the last, behold, these are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the words of Achia the Selonite, and in the visions of Joel the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nabat. ³⁰ And Solomon reigned over all Israel forty

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years. ³¹ And Solomon fell asleep, and they buried him in the city of David his father: and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.