The Queen of Sheba

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

²She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

³And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.

⁴When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,

⁵the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

⁶She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.

⁷But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard.

⁸How blessed are your men!How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

⁹Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

¹⁰Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold,a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almugwood and precious stones.

¹²The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)

¹³King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

¹⁴The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,

¹⁵not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

¹⁶King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of goldwent into each shield.

¹⁷He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of goldwent into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.

¹⁹The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.

²⁰Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

²¹All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

²²For the king had the ships of Tarshishat sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²³So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²⁴The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.

²⁵Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁶Solomon accumulated1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses,which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

²⁷The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue;the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

²⁹A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,and a horse for a hundred and fifty.Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

¹Now Solomon son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.

²Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel—the heads of the families.

³And Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon because it was the location of God’s Tent of Meeting, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.

⁴Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.

⁵But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, was in Gibeon beforethe tabernacle of the LORD. So Solomon and the assembly inquired of Him there.

⁶Solomon offered sacrifices there before the LORD on the bronze altar at the Tent of Meeting, where he offered a thousand burnt offerings.

⁷That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”

⁸Solomon replied to God: “You have shown much loving devotionto my father David, and You have made me king in his place.

⁹Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to my father David be fulfilled. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

¹⁰Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people.For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

¹¹God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart instead of requesting riches or wealth or honor for yourself or death for your enemies—and since you have not even requested long life but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern My people over whom I have made you king—

¹²therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”

¹³So Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place in Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting, and he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Riches

¹⁴Solomon accumulated1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses,which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

¹⁵The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

¹⁶Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue;the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

¹⁷A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,and a horse for a hundred and fifty.Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

¹Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.

²The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built.

³And Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.

⁵One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”

⁶Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

⁷And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.

⁸Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number.

⁹Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

¹⁰Now it pleased the Lordthat Solomon had made this request.

¹¹So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice—

¹²behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been another like you, nor will there ever be.

¹³Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.

¹⁴So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”

¹⁵Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Judges Wisely

¹⁶At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

¹⁷One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house.

¹⁸On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us.

¹⁹During the night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on him.

²⁰So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her bosom and put her dead son at my bosom.

²¹The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”

²²“No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.”But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.

²³Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

²⁴The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword,

²⁵and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

²⁶Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!”But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”

²⁷Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁸When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

The LORD Has Chosen Zion

¹O LORD, remember on behalf of Davidall the hardships he endured,

²how he swore an oath to the LORD,and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

³“I will not enter my houseor get into my bed,

⁴I will not give sleep to my eyesor slumber to my eyelids,

⁵until I find a place for the LORD,a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah;we found it in the fields of Jaar.

⁷Let us go to His dwelling place;let us worship at His footstool.

⁸Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,You and the ark of Your strength.

⁹May Your priests be clothed with righteousness,and Your saints shout for joy.

¹⁰For the sake of Your servant David,do not reject Your anointed one.

¹¹The LORD swore an oath to David,a promise He will not revoke:“One of your descendantsI will place on your throne.

¹²If your sons keep My covenantand the testimony I will teach them,then their sons will also sit on your throneforever and ever.”

¹³For the LORD has chosen Zion;He has desired it for His home:

¹⁴“This is My resting place forever and ever;here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.

¹⁵I will bless her with abundant provisions;I will satisfy her poor with bread.

¹⁶I will clothe her priests with salvation,and her saints will sing out in joy.

¹⁷There I will make a horn grow for David;I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.

¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame,but the crown upon him will gleam.”