New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.
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When the queen of Sheba heard reports about Solomon, due to the LORD's name, she came to test him with riddles.
2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind.
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Accompanying her to Jerusalem was a huge entourage with camels carrying spices, a large amount of gold, and precious stones. After she arrived, she told Solomon everything that was on her mind.
3 Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.
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Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him to answer.
4 When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built,
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When the queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was, the palace he had built,
5 she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD .
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the food on his table, the servants' quarters, the function and dress of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the entirely burned offerings that he offered at the LORD's temple, it took her breath away.
6 She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true!
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"The report I heard about your deeds and wisdom when I was still at home is true," she said to the king.
7 I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told.
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"I didn't believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, the half of it wasn't even told to me! You have far more wisdom and wealth than I was told.
8 How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom!
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Your people and these servants who continually serve you and get to listen to your wisdom are truly happy!
9 Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD ’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”
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Bless the LORD your God because he was pleased to place you on Israel's throne. Because the LORD loved Israel with an eternal love, the LORD made you king to uphold justice and righteousness."
10 Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
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The queen gave the king one hundred twenty kikkars of gold, a great quantity of spice, and precious stones. Never again has so much spice come to Israel as when the queen of Sheba gave this gift to King Solomon.
11 (In addition, Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood and precious jewels.
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Hiram's fleet went to Ophir and brought back gold, much almug wood, and precious stones.
12 The king used the sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before or since has there been such a supply of sandalwood.)
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The king used the almug wood to make parapets for the LORD's temple and for the royal palace as well as lyres and harps for the musicians. To this day, that much almug wood hasn't come into or been seen in Israel.
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all the customary gifts he had so generously given. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.
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King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and all that she had asked for, in addition to what he had already given her from his own personal funds. Then she and her servants returned to her homeland.
14 Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold.
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Solomon received an annual income of six hundred sixty-six kikkars of gold,
15 This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.
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not including income from the traders, the merchants and their profits, all the Arabian kings, and the officials of the land.
16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than fifteen pounds.
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King Solomon made two hundred body-sized shields of hammered gold, using fifteen pounds of gold in each shield,
17 He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing nearly four pounds. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
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and three hundred small shields of hammered gold, using sixty ounces of gold in each shield. The king placed these in the Forest of Lebanon Palace.
18 Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.
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The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with pure gold.
19 The throne had six steps and a rounded back. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne.
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Six steps led up to the throne, and the back of the throne was rounded at the top. Two lions stood beside the armrests on both sides of the throne.
20 There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!
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Another twelve lions stood on both sides of the six steps. No other kingdom had anything like this.
21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!
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All of King Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and all the items in the Forest of Lebanon Palace were made of pure gold, not silver, since even silver wasn't considered good enough in Solomon's time!
22 The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish that sailed with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
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The royal fleet of Tarshish-style ships was at sea with Hiram's fleet, returning once every three years with gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
23 So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth.
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King Solomon far exceeded all the earth's kings in wealth and wisdom,
24 People from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him.
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and so the whole earth wanted an audience with Solomon in order to hear his God-given wisdom.
25 Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
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Year after year they came with tribute: objects of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
26 Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem.
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Solomon acquired more and more chariots and horses until he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses that he kept in chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.
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In Jerusalem, the king made silver as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore trees that grow in the foothills.
28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia ; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.
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Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and Kue, purchased from Kue by the king's agents at the going price.
29 At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver, and horses for 150 pieces of silver. They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
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They would import a chariot from Egypt for six hundred pieces of silver and a horse for one hundred fifty, and then export them to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.
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