1 Kings 10

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 10

Solomon’s Listening Heart: The Queen of Sheba.^[a] ¹^(A)The queen of Sheba,^[b] having heard a report of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions. ²She 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 spoke to him about everything that she had on her mind. ³King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there was nothing so obscure that the king could not explain it to her. ⁴When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom, the house he had built, ⁵the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance and dress of his waiters, his servers, and the burnt offerings he offered in the house of the Lord, it took her breath away. ⁶“The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true,” she told the king. ⁷“I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes that not even the half had been told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. ⁸Happy are your servants, happy these ministers of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. ⁹Blessed be the Lord, your God, who has been 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.” ¹⁰Then 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.

¹¹Hiram’s fleet, which used to bring gold from Ophir, also brought from there a very large quantity of almug^[c] wood and precious stones. ¹²With this wood the king made supports for the house of the Lord and for the house of the king, and harps and lyres for the singers. Never again was any such almug wood brought or seen to the present day.

¹³King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked for, besides what King Solomon gave her from Solomon’s royal bounty. Then she returned with her servants to her own country.

Solomon’s Riches: Domestic Affairs.^[d] ¹⁴^(B)The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, ¹⁵in addition to what came from the tolls on travelers, from the traffic of merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country. ¹⁶^(C)King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold (six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield) ¹⁷and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold (three minas of gold went into each buckler); and the king put them in the house of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸The king made a large ivory throne, and overlaid it with refined gold. ¹⁹The throne had six steps, a back with a round top, and an arm on each side of the seat, with two lions standing next to the arms, ²⁰and twelve other lions standing there on the steps, two to a step, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this was made in any other kingdom. ²¹All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the utensils in the house of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, for in Solomon’s time silver was reckoned as nothing. ²²For the king had a fleet of Tarshish ships^[e] 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 peacocks.

Solomon’s Renown. ²³Thus King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. ²⁴And the whole world sought audience with Solomon, to hear the wisdom God had put into his heart. ²⁵They all brought their yearly tribute: vessels of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules—what was due each year.

Solomon’s Riches: Chariots and Horses. ²⁶^(D)Solomon amassed chariots and horses; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses; these he allocated among the chariot cities and to the king’s service in Jerusalem. ²⁷^(E)The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as numerous as the sycamores of the Shephelah. ²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia, where the king’s merchants purchased them. ²⁹A chariot imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, a horse one hundred and fifty shekels; they were exported at these rates to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.

Footnotes

10:1–13 The sub-unit on Solomon’s wisdom contrasts with 3:16–28. There Solomon’s gifts led him to listen to the humblest of his subjects; he accomplished justice and was revered by all his people. Here the emphasis is on his clever speech to a foreign monarch. She is duly impressed by the glory of his court, but it is she, not Solomon, who recalls the monarch’s duty of establishing justice (v. 9). The unit is interrupted briefly by a remark about Solomon’s maritime commerce (10:11–12).
10:1 Queen of Sheba: women rulers among the Arabs are recorded in eighth-century B.C. Assyrian inscriptions. Sheba was for centuries the leading principality in what is now Yemen.
10:11–12 Almug: the identification of this wood is unknown.
10:14–29 The material on Solomon’s riches, like that in 4:1–5:8, is organized around domestic affairs, international affairs, and chariots and horses (see note on 4:1–5:8), but contrasts with that earlier passage. There, Solomon’s domestic administration produced prosperity for all Judah and Israel (4:20); here the focus is on the wealth and luxury of Solomon’s own palace (10:14–21). There his international hegemony assured peace for all Judah and Israel (5:5); here his maritime ventures simply bring him more and more wealth (9:26–28; 10:11–12, 22). There even his livestock benefited from his prudent administration; here chariotry and horses are just another commodity to be traded (10:26–29).
10:22 Tarshish ships: large, strong vessels for long voyages. Tarshish was probably the ancient Tartessus, a Phoenician colony in southern Spain. Ivory, apes, and peacocks: the Hebrew words are obscure and the translations conjectural; however, the reference is certainly to exotic luxury items.

列王纪上 10

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

示巴女王拜访所罗门

10 示巴女王听说所罗门因耶和华而名声大震，便来用难题考问他。 ²她率领许多随从，用骆驼驮着香料、宝石和大量黄金到耶路撒冷晋见所罗门王，与所罗门谈论她心中的疑问。 ³所罗门王解答了她所有的问题，没有一样难得住他。 ⁴示巴女王见所罗门智慧非凡，又看见他建的宫殿、 ⁵席上的美味、入座的群臣、侍立一旁的仆人及其服装、酒政以及他在耶和华殿里献的燔祭，感到万分惊奇。

⁶她对所罗门说：“我在本国听到的有关你的功业和智慧原来都是真的。 ⁷若不是亲眼目睹，我不会相信。事实上，我听到的还不到一半！你的智慧和财富远超过我听到的传闻。 ⁸你的臣仆能经常侍立在你面前聆听智慧之言，真有福气！ ⁹你的上帝耶和华当受称颂！祂喜爱你，立你为以色列的王。因为祂永远爱以色列，所以立你为王，使你秉公行义。”

¹⁰示巴女王将四吨黄金、大量香料和宝石献给所罗门王。此后，再无人像示巴女王那样献给所罗门王那么多香料。

¹¹希兰王的船只从俄斐运来黄金、大量的檀香木和宝石。 ¹²所罗门王用这些檀香木为耶和华的殿和王宫造栏杆，又为歌乐手制作琴瑟。此后，再没有人运来或见过这样的檀香木。

¹³所罗门王除了厚赠示巴女王礼物以外，还满足了她的一切要求。之后，女王和随从就回示巴去了。

所罗门的财富

¹⁴所罗门每年收到的黄金约二十三吨。 ¹⁵此外，还有商人、阿拉伯诸王和国中各总督送来的贡税。 ¹⁶所罗门用锤好的金子打造了二百面大盾牌，每面用七公斤金子； ¹⁷又用锤好的金子打造了三百面小盾牌，每面用三点五公斤金子，全部存放在黎巴嫩林宫。

¹⁸王又造了一个象牙宝座，外面用纯金包裹。 ¹⁹这宝座有六级台阶，靠背是圆形的，两旁有扶手，扶手两边各站着一头狮子。 ²⁰六级台阶上共站着十二头狮子，每级台阶两端各站一头。这宝座举世无双。 ²¹所罗门王所有的杯子都是金的，黎巴嫩林宫里的所有器皿都是纯金的，没有一件是用银子造的，因为所罗门年间银子不算什么。 ²²王有他施船队和希兰的船队一起出海，每三年就运回金银、象牙、猿猴和孔雀。

²³所罗门王的财富和智慧超过天下诸王。 ²⁴天下的人都纷纷来朝见他，聆听上帝赐给他的智言慧语。 ²⁵他们年年都带来礼物，有金银器皿、衣服、兵器、香料和骡马。

²⁶所罗门组建了战车和骑兵，有一千四百辆战车、一万二千名骑兵，驻扎在屯车城和他所在的耶路撒冷。 ²⁷王使耶路撒冷的金银多如石头，使香柏木多如丘陵的无花果树。 ²⁸所罗门的马匹都是由王室商队从埃及和古厄按定价买来的。 ²⁹他们从埃及买来车马，每辆车六百块银子，每匹马一百五十块银子，他们也把车马卖给赫人诸王和亚兰诸王。

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified) (CCB)

1 Kings 10 New American Bible (Revised Edition)