2 Chronicles 9

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame and came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficultquestions, with a very large retinue with camels laden with spices and an immense quantity of gold and preciousstones. Having reached Solomon, she discussed everything that she had in mind with him,	1 And when the queen of Saba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to try him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with great riches, and camels, which carried spices, and abundance of gold, and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she proposed to him all that was in her heart.
2 and Solomon had an answer for al her questions; not one of them was too obscure for Solomon toanswer for her.	2 And Solomon explained to her all that she proposed: and there was not any thing that he did not make clear unto her.
3 When the queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was, the palace which he had built,	3 And when she had seen these things, to wit, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
4 the food at his table, the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff and the way theywere dressed, his cupbearers and the way they were dressed, and the burnt offerings, which he made in theTemple of Yahweh, it left her breathless,	4 And the meats of his table, and the dwelling places of his servants, and the attendance of his officers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their garments, and the victims which he offered in the house of the Lord: there was no more spirit in her, she was so astonished.
5 and she said to the king, 'The report I heard in my own country about you and about your wisdom inhandling your affairs was true, then!	5 And she add to the king: The word is true which I heard in my country of thy virtues and wisdom.
6 Until I came and saw for myself, I did not believe the reports, but clearly I was told less than half aboutthe true extent of your wisdom. You surpass what was reported to me.	6 I did not believe them that told it, until I came, and my eyes had seen, and I had proved that scarce one half of thy wisdom had been told me: thou hast exceeded the same with thy virtues.
7 How fortunate your people are! How fortunate your courtiers, continually in attendance on you andlistening to your wisdom!	7 Happy are thy men, and happy are thy servants, who stand always before thee, and hear thy wisdom.
8 Blessed be Yahweh your God. Because your God loved Israel and meant to keep it secure for ever, hehas made you its king to administer law and justice.'	8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath been pleased to set thee on his throne, king of the Lord thy God. Because God loveth Israel, and will preserve them for ever: therefore hath he made thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
9 And she presented the king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spicesand precious stones. There never were such spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.	9 And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and most precious stones: there were no such spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.
10 Similarly, the men employed by Huram and the men employed by Solomon, who brought the goldfrom Ophir, also brought back algum wood and precious stones.	10 And the servants also of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and thyine trees, and most precious stones:
11 Of the algum wood the king made steps for the Temple of Yahweh and for the royal palace, and harpsand lyres for the musicians, the like of which had never before been seen in Judah.	11 And the king made of the thyine trees stairs in the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the singing men: never were there seen such trees in the land of Juda.
12 And King Solomon, in his turn, presented the queen of Sheba with everything that she expressed awish for, besides what he gave her in exchange for what she had brought to the king. After which, she wenthome to her own country, she and her servants.	12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she desired, and that she asked, and many more things than she brought to him: so she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.
13 The weight of the gold received annually by Solomon amounted to six hundred and sixty-six talents ofgold,	13 And the weight of the gold, that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:
14 besides what tol s and foreign trade brought in; all the Arab kings and the provincial governors alsobrought gold and silver to Solomon.	14 Beside the sum which the deputies of divers nations, and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and all the kings of Arabia, and the lords of the lands, who I brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred great shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of beaten goldgoing into one shield;	15 And king Solomon made two hundred golden spears, of the sum of six hundred pieces of gold, which went to every spear:
16 also three hundred smal shields of beaten gold, three hundred shekels of gold going into one shield;and the king put these into the House of the Forest of Lebanon.	16 And three hundred golden shields of three hundred pieces of gold, which went to the covering of every shield: and the king put them in the armoury, which was compassed with a wood.
17 The king also made a great ivory throne which he overlaid with refined gold.	17 The king also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 The throne had six steps with a golden foot-rest attached to the throne, and arms on each side of theseat and two lions standing beside the arms,	18 And six steps to go up to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms one on either side, and two lions standing by the arms:
19 and twelve lions stood on either side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made in any otherkingdom.	19 Moreover twelve other little lions standing upon the steps on both sides: there was not such a throne in any kingdom.
20 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,	20 And all the vessels of the king's table were of gold, and the vessels of the house of the forest of Libanus were of the purest gold. For no account was made of silver in those days.
21 since the king's ships went to Tarshish with Huram's employees, and once every three years themerchantmen would come back laden with gold and silver, ivory, apes and baboons.	21 For the king's ships went to Tharsis with the servants of Hiram, once in three years: and they brought thence gold and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
22 For riches and for wisdom, King Solomon surpassed al kings on earth,	22 And Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth for riches and glory.
23 and al the kings in the world consulted Solomon to hear the wisdom which God had implanted in hisheart,	23 And all the kings of the earth desired to see the face of Solomon, that they might hear the wisdom which God had given in his heart.
24 and everyone would bring a present with him: objects of silver and of gold, robes, armour, spices,horses and mules; and this went on year after year.	24 And every year they brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules.
25 Solomon also had four thousand stal s for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand cavalrymen;these he stationed in the chariot towns and near the king in Jerusalem.	25 And Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots, and horsemen, and he placed them in the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.
26 He was overlord of all the kings from the River to the territory of the Philistines and the Egyptianborder.	26 And he exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt.
27 In Jerusalem the king made silver as common as stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as sycamore inthe Lowlands.	27 And he made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars as common as the sycamores, which grow in the plains.
28 Horses were imported for Solomon from Muzur and all the other countries too.	28 And horses were brought to him out of Egypt, and out of all countries.
29 The rest of the history of Solomon, from first to last, is this not all written down in the records ofNathan the prophet, in the Prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and in the Vision of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboamson of Nebat?	29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon first and last are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the boobs of Ahias the Silonite, and in the vision of Addo the seer, against Jeroboam the son of Nabat.
30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.	30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 When Solomon fel asleep with his ancestors, he was buried in the City of his father David; Rehoboamhis son succeeded him.	31 And he slept d with his fathers: and they buried him in the city of David: and Roboam his son reigned in his stead