1 Kings 10

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame and came to test him with difficult 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 large retinue, with camels laden with spices and an immensequantity of gold and precious stones. Having reached Solomon, she discussed with him everything that she hadin mind,	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 and Solomon had an answer for al her questions; not one of them was too obscure for the king toanswer for 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 saw how very wise Solomon was, the palace which 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 accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff and the way theywere dressed, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings which he presented in the Temple of Yahweh, it left herbreathless,	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 and she said to the king, 'The report I heard in my own country about your wisdom in handling youraffairs was true then!	6 And she said to the king: “The word is true, which I have heard in my own land,
7 Until I came and saw for myself, I did not believe the reports, but clearly I was told less than half: forwisdom and prosperity, you surpass what was reported to me.	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 How fortunate your wives are! How fortunate these courtiers of yours, continual y in attendance on youand listening 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 Yahweh your God who has shown you his favour by setting you on the throne of Israel!Because of Yahweh's everlasting love for Israel, he has made you king to administer law 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 And she presented the king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spicesand precious stones; no such wealth of spices ever came again as those which the queen of Sheba gave to KingSolomon.	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 Similarly, Hiram's fleet, which brought the gold from Ophir, also brought back great cargoes of almugtimber 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 Of the almug timber the king made supports for the Temple of Yahweh and for the royal palace, andharps and lyres for the musicians; no more of this almug timber has since come or been seen to this 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 And King Solomon, in his turn, presented the queen of Sheba with everything that she expressed awish for, besides those presents which he gave her with a munificence worthy of King Solomon. After which, shewent home to her own country, she and her servants.	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 weight of gold received annually by Solomon amounted to six hundred and sixty-six talents ofgold,	14 Now the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon each year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
15 besides what tol s and foreign trade, as well as everything the Arab kings and the provincial governorsbrought in.	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 King Solomon made two hundred great shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold going intoone 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 also three hundred small shields of beaten gold, three mina of gold going into one shield; and the kingput these into the House 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 made a great ivory throne which he overlaid 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 rounded top, and arms on each side of the seat; two lionsstood beside the arms,	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 lions stood on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it has ever been made in any otherkingdom.	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 Al King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and al the plate in the House of the Forest ofLebanon was of pure gold; silver was little thought of in Solomon's days,	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 since the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram's fleet, and once every three years the fleet ofTarshish would come back laden with gold and silver, ivory, apes and baboons.	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 For riches and for wisdom, King Solomon surpassed al kings on 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 consulted Solomon to hear the wisdom which God had implanted 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 and everyone would bring a present with him: things made of silver, things made of gold, robes,armour, spices, horses and mules; and this went on year after year.	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 then built up a force of chariots and cavalry; he had one thousand four hundred chariots andtwelve thousand horses, these he stationed in the chariot towns and near the king 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 In Jerusalem the king made silver as common as stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as sycamore inthe lowlands.	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 Muzur and Cilicia. The king's dealers acquired them fromCilicia at the prevailing price.	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 was imported from Egypt for six hundred silver shekels and a horse from Cilicia for ahundred and fifty. They also supplied the Hittite and Aramaean kings, who al used them as middlemen.	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.