Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
The Message Bible MSG
1 And when the queen of Saba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with great riches, and camels, which carried spices, and abundance of gold, and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she proposed to him all that was in her heart.
1
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's reputation and came to Jerusalem to put his reputation to the test, asking all the tough questions. She made a showy entrance - an impressive retinue of attendants and camels loaded with perfume and much gold and precious stones. She emptied her heart to Solomon, talking over everything she cared about.
2 And Solomon explained to her all that she proposed: and there was not any thing that he did not make clear unto her.
2
And Solomon answered everything she put to him - nothing stumped him.
3 And when she had seen these things, to wit, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
3
When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon's wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built,
4 And the meats of his table, and the dwelling places of his servants, and the attendance of his officers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their garments, and the victims which he offered in the house of the Lord: there was no more spirit in her, she was so astonished.
4
the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials, the sharply dressed waiters, the cupbearers, and then the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at The Temple of God, it all took her breath away.
5 And she said to the king: The word is true which I heard in my country of thy virtues and wisdom.
5
She said to the king, "It's all true! Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed.
6 I did not believe them that told it, until I came, and my eyes had seen, and I had proved that scarce one half of thy wisdom had been told me: thou hast exceeded the same with thy virtues.
6
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself; they didn't exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance - far more than I could ever have imagined.
7 Happy are thy men, and happy are thy servants, who stand always before thee, and hear thy wisdom.
7
Lucky the men and women who work for you, getting to be around you every day and hear your wise words firsthand!
8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath been pleased to set thee on his throne, king of the Lord thy God. Because God loveth Israel, and will preserve them forever: therefore hath he made thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
8
And blessed be your God who has taken such a liking to you, making you king. Clearly, God's love for Israel is behind this, making you king to keep a just order and nurture a God-pleasing people."
9 And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and most precious stones: there were no such spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.
9
She then gave the king four and a half tons of gold and sack after sack of spices and precious stones. There hasn't been a cargo of spices like the shipload the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon.
10 And the servants also of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and thyine trees, and most precious stones:
10
The ships of Hiram also imported gold from Ophir along with fragrant sandalwood and expensive gems.
11 And the king made of the thyine trees stairs in the house of the Lord, and in the king’s house, and harps and psalteries for the singing men: never were there seen such trees in the land of Juda.
11
The king used the sandalwood for fine cabinetry in The Temple of God and the royal palace, and for making harps and dulcimers for the musicians. Nothing like that shipment of sandalwood has been seen since.
12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she desired, and that she asked, and many more things than she brought to him: so she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.
12
King Solomon, for his part, gave the queen of Sheba all her heart's desire - everything she asked for. She took away more than she brought. Satisfied, she returned home with her train of servants.
13 And the weight of the gold, that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:
13
Solomon received twenty-five tons of gold annually.
14 Beside the sum which the deputies of divers nations, and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and all the kings of Arabia, and the lords of the lands, who brought gold and silver to Solomon.
14
This was above and beyond the taxes and profit on trade with merchants and traders. All kings of Arabia and various and assorted governors also brought silver and gold to Solomon.
15 And king Solomon made two hundred golden spears, of the sum of six hundred pieces of gold, which went to every spear:
15
King Solomon crafted 200 body-length shields of hammered gold - about fifteen pounds of gold to each shield
16 And three hundred golden shields of three hundred pieces of gold, which went to the covering of every shield: and the king put them in the armoury, which was compassed with a wood.
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- and about 300 small shields about half that size. He stored the shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 The king also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
17
The king made a massive throne of ivory with a veneer of gold.
18 And six steps to go up to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms one on either side, and two lions standing by the arms:
18
The throne had six steps leading up to it with an attached footstool of gold. The armrests on each side were flanked by lions.
19 Moreover twelve other little lions standing upon the steps on both sides: there was not such a throne in any kingdom.
19
Lions, twelve of them, were placed at either end of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom.
20 And all the vessels of the king’s table were of gold, and the vessels of the house of the forest of Libanus were of the purest gold. For no account was made of silver in those days.
20
King Solomon's chalices and tankards were made of gold, and all the dinnerware and serving utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver; silver was considered common and cheap in the time of Solomon.
21 For the king’s ships went to Tharsis with the servants of Hiram, once in three years: and they brought thence gold and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
21
The king's ships, manned by Hiram's sailors, made a round trip to Tarshish every three years, returning with a cargo of gold, silver, and ivory, apes and peacocks.
22 And Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth for riches and glory.
22
King Solomon was richer and wiser than all the kings of the earth - he surpassed them all.
23 And all the kings of the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, that they might hear the wisdom which God had given in his heart.
23
Kings came from all over the world to be with Solomon and get in on the wisdom God had given him.
24 And every year they brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules.
24
Everyone who came brought gifts - artifacts of gold and silver, fashionable robes and gowns, the latest in weapons, exotic spices, horses, and mules - parades of visitors, year after year.
25 And Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots, and horsemen, and he placed them in the cities of the chariots and where the king was in Jerusalem.
25
Solomon collected horses and chariots. He had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen in barracks in the chariot-cities and in Jerusalem.
26 And he exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt.
26
He ruled over all the kings from the River Euphrates in the east, throughout the Philistine country, and as far west as the border of Egypt.
27 And he made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars as common as the sycamores, which grow in the plains.
27
The king made silver as common as rocks and cedar as common as the fig trees in the lowland hills.
28 And horses were brought to him out of Egypt, and out of all countries.
28
He carried on a brisk horse-trading business with Egypt and other places.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon first and last are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the books of Ahias the Silonite, and in the vision of Addo the seer, against Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
29
The rest of Solomon's life and rule, from start to finish, one can read in the records of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.
30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
30
Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.
31 And he slept with his fathers: and they buried him in the city of David: and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.
31
Solomon died and was buried in the City of David his father. His son Rehoboam was the next king.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.