Common English Bible CEB
New King James Version NKJV
1 When the queen of Sheba heard reports about Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. Accompanying her was a huge entourage, with camels carrying spices, large amounts of gold, and precious stones. After she arrived, she told Solomon everything that was on her mind.
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Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.
2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him to answer.
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So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.
3 When the queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was, the palace he had built,
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And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
4 the food on his table, his servants' quarters, the function and dress of his attendants, his cupbearers and their dress, and the entirely burned offerings he offered at the LORD's temple, it took her breath away.
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the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
5 "The report I heard about your deeds and wisdom when I was still at home is true," she said to the king.
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Then she said to the king: "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.
6 "I didn't believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, the half of it wasn't told to me! You have far more than I was told.
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However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard.
7 Your people and these servants who continually serve you and get to listen to your wisdom are truly happy!
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Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
8 Bless the LORD your God because he was pleased to put you on the throne as king for the LORD your God. Because your God loved Israel and wanted to establish them forever, he has made you their king to uphold justice and righteousness."
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Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness."
9 Then she gave the king one hundred twenty kikkars of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again has such a quantity of spice come to Israel as when the queen of Sheba gave this gift to King Solomon.
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And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 In addition, Huram's servants and the servants of Solomon, who had brought gold back from Ophir, also brought algum wood and precious stones.
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Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones.
11 The king made steps for the LORD's temple and for the royal palace with the algum wood, as well as lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.
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And the king made walkways of the algum wood for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted, even more than she had brought the king. Then she and her servants returned to her homeland.
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Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
13 Solomon received an annual income of six hundred sixty-six kikkars of gold,
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The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
14 not including income from the traders and merchants. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought Solomon gold and silver.
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besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred body-sized shields of hammered gold, using fifteen pounds of hammered gold in each shield;
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And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.
16 and three hundred small shields of hammered gold, using seven and a half pounds of hammered gold in each shield. The king placed these in the Forest of Lebanon Palace.
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He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with pure gold.
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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 Six steps led up to the throne, which had a gold footrest attached. Two lions stood beside the armrests on both sides of the throne.
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The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.
19 Another twelve lions stood on both sides of the six steps. No other kingdom had anything like this.
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Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
20 All 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!
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All King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
21 The royal fleet sailed to Tarshish with the servants of Huram, returning once every three years with gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.
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For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
22 King Solomon far exceeded all the earth's kings in wealth and wisdom,
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So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 and kings of every nation wanted an audience with Solomon in order to hear his God-given wisdom.
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And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
24 Year after year they came with tribute: objects of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
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Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
25 Solomon also had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, together with twelve thousand horsemen that he kept in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
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Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 He ruled all the kings from the Euphrates to the Philistines' land and the border of Egypt.
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So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.
27 In Jerusalem, the king made silver as common as stones and cedar as common as sycamore trees that grow in the foothills.
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The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and every land.
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And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
29 The rest of Solomon's deeds, from beginning to end, aren't they written in the records of the prophet Nathan, the prophecies of Ahijah from Shiloh, and the visions of the seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam, Nebat's son?
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Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
30 Solomon ruled over all Israel in Jerusalem for forty years.
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Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 Solomon lay down with his ancestors and was buried in David's City with his father. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
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Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.