1Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to test him with hard questions. 2She came to Jerusalem with a very great company, with camels bearing spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart. 3And Solomon made known all her matters; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4And when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, it took her breath away. 6Then she said to the king: It was a true word which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I have heard. 8Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9Blessed is Jehovah your God, who has delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because of Jehovah’s eternal love for Israel, therefore He made you king, to execute justice and righteousness. 10And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11And the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12And the king made pillars of the almug wood for the house of Jehovah and for the king’s house, and harps and lutes for the singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. 13And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given to her according to the hand of the king. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. 14The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the land. 16And King Solomon made two hundred shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the house of the Forest of Lebanon. 18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20Twelve lions were standing there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 21All 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. 22For the king had a fleet of ships at sea from Tarshish along with the fleet of Hiram; and once every three years the ships from Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23Thus King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 24And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his heart. 25Each man was bringing his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. 26And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Mikveh; the king’s merchants got them at Mikveh for a price. 29Now a chariot that came up out from Egypt was six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, by their hand, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.