The Queen of Sheba
And the queen of Sheba heard the report of Solomon, concerning the name of the LORD; and she came to test him with riddles.
And she came to Jerusalem with a very weighty retinue — camels carrying spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him all that was with her heart.
And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he did not tell her.
And the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
and the food of his table, and the seating of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers and their clothing, and his cupbearers, and his burnt offering that he offered up at the house of the LORD — and there was no more breath in her.
And she said to the king: “True was the word that I heard in my own land about your words and about your wisdom.
And I did not believe the words until I came and my own eyes saw — and look, not the half was told me. You have added wisdom and good beyond the report that I heard.
Happy are your men! Happy are these your servants, who stand before you always, hearing your wisdom!
Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because the LORD loves Israel forever, he has made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”
And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and very many spices, and precious stones; never again did such an abundance of spices come in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
And also the fleet of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir almug wood in very great abundance, and precious stones.
And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the house of the king, and lyres and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come in or been seen, to this day.
And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, besides what he gave her according to the hand of King Solomon. And she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor
And the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
besides that from the traveling merchants, and the trade of the traders, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.
And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold — six hundred shekels of gold went into each large shield —
and three hundred shields of beaten gold — three minas of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold.
The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was rounded behind it; and there were armrests on this side and on that at the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests,
and twelve lions standing there on the six steps, on this side and on that. Nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.
And all King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver — it was counted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
For the king had a fleet of Tarshish ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram; once every three years the fleet of Tarshish would come in, carrying gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
And all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
And they were bringing, each man his tribute — vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and weapons, and spices, horses and mules — the amount of a year in its year.
And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: he had a thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.
And the king made silver in Jerusalem like the stones, and cedars he made like the sycamores that are in the lowland, in abundance.
And the source of the horses that Solomon had was Egypt; and the king’s traders would take a drove at a price.
And a chariot would come up and go out of Egypt for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so, by their hand, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.