1 Kings 10

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame, came to test him with subtle questions.	1 Then, too, the queen of Sheba, having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, arrived to test him with enigmas.
2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue, and with camels bearing spices, a large amount of gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was interested.	2 And entering into Jerusalem with a great retinue, and with riches, and with camels carrying aromatics, and with an exceedingly great quantity of gold and precious stones, she went to king Solomon. And she spoke to him all that she held in her heart.
3 King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from him that he could not explain to her.	3 And Solomon taught her, in all the words that she had proposed to him. There was not any word which was able to be hidden from the king, or which he did not answer for her.
4 When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's great wisdom, the palace he had built,	4 Then, when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
5 the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his waiters, his banquet service, and the holocausts he offered in the temple of the LORD, she was breathless.	5 and the food of his table, and the dwelling places of his servants, and the rows of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts that he was offering in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her.
6 "The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true," she told the king.	6 And she said to the king: “The word is true, which I have heard in my own land,
7 "Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes, I have discovered that they were not telling me the half. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.	7 about your words and your wisdom. But I did not believe those who explained it to me, until I went myself and saw it with my own eyes. And I have discovered that the half of it has not been told to me: your wisdom and works are greater than the report that I have heard.
8 Happy are your men, happy these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.	8 Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you always, and who hear your wisdom.
9 Blessed be the LORD, your God, whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel. In his enduring love for Israel, the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice."	9 Blessed is the Lord your God, whom you have greatly pleased, and who has placed you upon the throne of Israel. For the Lord loves Israel forever, and he has appointed you as king, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.”
10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did anyone bring such an abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.	10 Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great amount of aromatics and precious stones. No greater quantity of aromatics was ever again brought forth as these, which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
11 Hiram's fleet, which used to bring gold from Ophir, also brought from there a large quantity of cabinet wood and precious stones.	11 Then, too, the navy of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought an exceedingly great quantity of thyine wood and precious stones from Ophir.
12 With the wood the king made supports for the temple of the LORD and for the palace of the king, and harps and lyres for the chanters. No more such wood was brought or seen to the present day.	12 And the king made, from the thyine wood, the posts of the house of the Lord, and of the house of the king, and citharas and lyres for the musicians. No thyine trees of this kind were ever again brought forth or seen, even to the present day.
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked for, besides such presents as were given her from Solomon's royal bounty. Then she returned with her servants to her own country.	13 Then king Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all that she desired and requested of him, aside from what he himself had offered to her from his royal bounty. And she returned and went away to her own land, with her servants.
14 The gold that Solomon received every year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents,	14 Now the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon each year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
15 in addition to what came from the Tarshish fleet, from the traffic of merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country.	15 aside from what was brought to him by the men who were over the tributes, and by the merchants, and by those selling every kind of small item, and by all the kings of Arabia, and by the rulers of the land.
16 Moreover, King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold (six hundred gold shekels went into each shield)	16 Also, king Solomon made two hundred large shields from the purest gold. He dispensed six hundred shekels of gold for the layers of one shield.
17 and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold (three minas of gold went into each buckler); and he put them in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon.	17 And for the three hundred crescent-shaped shields of tested gold, there were three hundred minas of gold covering one shield. And the king placed these in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
18 The king also had a large ivory throne made, and overlaid it with refined gold.	18 Also, king Solomon made a great throne from ivory. And he clothed it with a great quantity of red gold.
19 The throne had six steps, a back with a round top, and an arm on each side of the seat. Next to each arm stood a lion;	19 The throne had six steps, and the summit of the throne was rounded in the back section. And there were two hands, on one side and the other, holding the seat. And two lions were standing beside each hand,
20 and twelve other lions stood on the steps, two to a step, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this was produced in any other kingdom.	20 with twelve little lions standing upon the six steps, on one side and the other. No similar work has been made, ever in any kingdom.
21 In addition, all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the utensils in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. There was no silver, for in Solomon's time it was considered worthless.	21 Moreover, all the vessels from which king Solomon would drink were of gold. And all the items in the house of the forest of Lebanon were of the purest gold. There was no silver, nor was any accounting made of silver in the days of Solomon.
22 The king had a fleet of Tarshish ships at sea with Hiram's fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish ships would come with a cargo of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.	22 For the navy of the king, once every three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tarshish, bringing from there gold, and silver, and elephant tusks, and primates, and peacocks.
23 Thus King Solomon surpassed in riches and wisdom all the kings of the earth.	23 And so, king Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
24 And the whole world sought audience with Solomon, to hear from him the wisdom which God had put in his heart.	24 And all the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, so as to hear his wisdom, which God had granted to his heart.
25 Each one brought his yearly tribute: silver or gold articles, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules.	25 And each one brought him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, clothing and weapons of war, as well as aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.
26 Solomon collected chariots and drivers; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand drivers; these he allocated among the chariot cities and to the king's service in Jerusalem.	26 And Solomon gathered together the chariots and horsemen. And he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And he placed them in the walled cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as numerous as the sycamores of the foothills.	27 And he caused silver to be as abundant in Jerusalem as stones, and he supplied a multitude of cedars like the sycamores that grow in the plains.
28 Solomon's horses were imported from Cilicia, where the king's agents purchased them.	28 And horses were brought for Solomon from Egypt and from Kue. For the merchants of the king were buying these from Kue. And they paid out the established price.
29 A chariot imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels, a horse one hundred and fifty shekels; they were exported at these rates to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.	29 Now a four-horse chariot would be sent from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty. And in this manner, all the kings of the Hittites and of Syria were selling horses.