The queen of Saba cometh to king Solomon: his riches and glory.
10:1. And the queen of Saba having heard of the fame of Solomon in the
name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.
10:2. And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and
camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and
precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she
had in her heart.
10:3. And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him:
there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not
answer her.
10:4. And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the
house which he had built,
10:5. And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and
the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and
the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no
longer any spirit in her;
10:6. And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my
own country,
10:7. Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not
believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes,
and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy
works exceed the fame which I heard.
10:8. Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand
before thee always, and hear thy wisdom.
10:9. Blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath
set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel
for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.
10:10. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and
of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no
more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to
king Solomon.
10:11. (The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought
from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones.
10:12. And the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of
the Lord, and of the king's house: and citterns and harps for singers:
there were no such thyine trees as these brought nor seen unto this
day.)
10:13. And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and
asked of him: besides what he offered her of himself of his royal
bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country, with her
servants.
10:14. And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every
year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:
10:15. Besides that which the men brought him that were over the
tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the
kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.
10:16. And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he
allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield.
10:17. And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of
gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the
forest of Libanus.
10:18. King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it
with the finest gold.
10:19. It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and
there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions
stood, one at each hand,
10:20. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps, on the one side
and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom.
10:21. Moreover, all the vessels out of which king Solomon drank, were
of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was
of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it
in the days of Solomon:
10:22. For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of
Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and
elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks.
10:23. And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches
and wisdom.
10:24. And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his
wisdom, which God had given in his heart.
10:25. And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of
gold, garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, every
year.
10:26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a
thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he
bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.
10:27. And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and
cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains.
10:28. And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for
the king's merchants bought them out of Coa, and brought them at a set
price.
10:29. And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred
sicles of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this
manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.