2 Chronicles 9

1The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, and she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She came with a very large company, with camels carrying spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. 2Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hidden for Solomon to explain to her. 3When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon’s wisdom, and the palace he had built, 4the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the service of his attendants and their robes, his cupbearers and their robes, and the burnt offerings he offered at the house of the LORD, she was left breathless. 5She said to the king, “It is true, the report that reached me in my own country about your words and your wisdom. 6But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw it with my own eyes. And indeed, I was not told even half of how great your wisdom is. You go far beyond the report I heard. 7How happy your men must be! How happy are these officials of yours, who stand before you all the time and hear your wisdom! 8Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loves Israel and would make it stand firm forever, he has made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9Then she gave the king about 9,000 pounds of gold, a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. No spices ever matched those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10Huram’s servants and Solomon’s servants, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood from there too, and precious stones. 11The king used the algum wood to make steps for the house of the LORD and the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the singers. Nothing like them had ever been seen before in the land of Judah. 12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked for, more than she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went back to her own country, she and her servants.

13The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was about 50,000 pounds of gold, 14not counting what the traveling traders and the merchants brought in. All the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land as well, brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, with about 15 pounds of beaten gold going into each shield. 16He also made 300 shields of beaten gold, with about 7 1/2 pounds of gold going into each shield. The king placed them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

17Then the king made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, fastened to the throne. On either side of the seat were armrests, with two lions standing beside the armrests. 19Twelve lions stood there on the six steps, one at each end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any kingdom. 20All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. In Solomon’s days silver was not thought of as anything. 21For the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Once every three years the Tarshish ships would come in, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.

22So King Solomon grew greater in riches and in wisdom than all the kings of the earth. 23All the kings of the earth sought an audience with Solomon, to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24Each of them brought a gift: articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, horses and mules, so much every year.

25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore-fig trees of the Shephelah. 28Horses were brought for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands. 29The rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer about Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31Then Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David his father. And his son Rehoboam became king in his place.