I Kings 10

umalkat-sheva shoma'at et-shema shelomoh leshem Adonai vattavo lenassoto bekhidot

The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, through the name of GOD, and she came to test him with hard questions.

vattavo yerushalae͏mah bekhayil kaved me'od gemallim nose'im besamim vezahav rav-me'od ve'even yeqarah vattavo el-shelomoh vattedabber elayw et kol-asher hayah im-levavah

She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels bearing spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she asked him all that she had in mind.

vayyagged-lah shelomoh et-kol-devareha lo-hayah davar nelam min-hammelekh asher lo higgid lah

Solomon had answers for all her questions; there was nothing that the king did not know, [nothing] to which he could not give her an answer.

vattere malkat-sheva et kol-khokhmat shelomoh vehabbayit asher banah

When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, and the palace he had built,

uma'akhal shulkhano umoshav avadayw uma'amad mesharetav umalbushehem umashqayw ve'olato asher ya'aleh bet Adonai velo-hayah vah od ruakh

the fare of his table, the seating of his courtiers, the service and attire of his attendants, and his wine service, and the burnt offerings that he offered at the House of GOD, she was left breathless.

vattomer el-hammelekh emet hayah haddavar asher shamati be'artsi al-devarekha ve'al-khokhmatekha

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own land about you and your wisdom was true.

velo-he'emanti laddevarim ad asher-bati vattirenah enay vehinneh lo-huggad-li hakhetsi hosafta khokhmah vatov el-hashemu'ah asher shama'eti

But I did not believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes that not even the half had been told me; your wisdom and wealth surpass the reports that I heard.

ashre anashekha ashre avadekha elleh ha'omedim lefanekha tamid hashome'im et-khokhmatekha

How fortunate are your people and how fortunate are these your courtiers, who are always in attendance on you and can hear your wisdom!

yehi Adonai elohekha barukh asher khafets bekha letittekha al-kisse yisra'el be'ahavat Adonai et-yisra'el le'olam vayesimekha lemelekh la'asot mishpat utsedaqah

Praised be the ETERNAL your God, who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. It is because of GOD’s everlasting love for Israel that you were made king—to administer justice and righteousness.”

vattitten lammelekh me'ah ve'esrim kikkar zahav uvesamim harbeh me'od ve'even yeqarah lo va khabbosem hahu od larov asher-natenah malkat-sheva lammelekh shelomoh

She presented the king with one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a vast quantity of spices arrive as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.—

vegam oni khiram asher-nasa zahav me'ofir hevi me'ofir atse almuggim harbeh me'od ve'even yeqarah

Moreover, Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a huge quantity of almug wood and precious stones.

vayya'as hammelekh et-atse ha'almuggim misad levet-Adonai ulevet hammelekh vekhinnorot unevalim lasharim lo va-khen atse almuggim velo nirah ad hayyom hazzeh

The king used the almug wood for decorations in the House of GOD and in the royal palace, and for harps and lyres for the musicians. Such a quantity of almug wood has never arrived or been seen to this day.—

vehammelekh shelomoh natan lemalkat-sheva et-kol-kheftsah asher sha'alah millevad asher natan-lah keyad hammelekh shelomoh vattefen vattelekh le'artsah hi va'avadeha

King Solomon, in turn, gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for, in addition to what King Solomon gave her out of his royal bounty. Then she and her attendants left and returned to her own land.

vayehi mishqal hazzahav asher-ba lishlomoh beshanah ekhat shesh me'ot shishim vashesh kikkar zahav

The weight of the gold that Solomon received every year was 666 talents of gold,

levad me'anshe hattarim umiskhar harokhelim vekhol-malkhe ha'erev ufakhot ha'arets

besides what came from the traders, from the traffic of the merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the regions.

vayya'as hammelekh shelomoh matayim tsinnah zahav shakhut shesh-me'ot zahav ya'aleh al-hatsinnah ha'ekhat

King Solomon made 200 shields of beaten gold—600 shekels of gold to each shield—

ushelosh-me'ot maginnim zahav shakhut sheloshet manim zahav ya'aleh al-hammagen ha'ekhat vayyittenem hammelekh bet ya'ar hallevanon

and 300 bucklers of beaten gold—three minas of gold to each buckler. The king placed them in the Lebanon Forest House.

vayya'as hammelekh kisse-shen gadol vayetsappehu zahav mufaz

The king also made a large throne of ivory, and he overlaid it with refined gold.

shesh ma'alot lakkisseh verosh-agol lakkisseh me'akharayw veyadot mizzeh umizzeh el-meqom hashavet ushenayim arayot omedim etsel hayyadot

Six steps led up to the throne, and the throne had a back with a rounded top, and arms on either side of the seat. Two lions stood beside the arms,

ushenem asar arayim omedim sham al-shesh hamma'alot mizzeh umizzeh lo-na'asah khen lekhol-mamlakhot

and twelve lions stood on the six steps, six on either side. No such throne was ever made for any other kingdom.

vekhol kele mashqeh hammelekh shelomoh zahav vekhol kele bet-ya'ar hallevanon zahav sagur en kesef lo nekhshav bime shelomoh limumah

All King Solomon’s drinking cups were of gold, and all the utensils of the Lebanon Forest House were of pure gold: silver did not count for anything in Solomon’s days.

ki oni tarshish lammelekh bayyam im oni khiram akhat leshalosh shanim tavo oni tarshish nose'et zahav vakhesef shenhabbim veqofim vetukkiyyim

For the king had a Tarshish fleet on the sea, along with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years, the Tarshish fleet came in, bearing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

vayyigdal hammelekh shelomoh mikkol malkhe ha'arets le'osher ulekhokhmah

King Solomon surpassed all the monarchs on earth in wealth and in wisdom.

vekhol-ha'arets mevaqshim et-pene shelomoh lishmoa et-khokhmato asher-natan elohim belibbo

All the world came to pay homage to Solomon and to listen to the wisdom with which God had endowed him;

vehemmah mevi'im ish minkhato kele khesef ukhele zahav uselamot venesheq uvesamim susim uferadim devar-shanah beshanah

and each one would bring tribute—silver and gold objects, robes, weapons and spices, horses and mules—in the amount due each year.

vayye'esof shelomoh rekhev ufarashim vayehi-lo elef ve'arba-me'ot rekhev ushenem-asar elef parashim vayyankhem be'are harekhev ve'im-hammelekh birushalai͏m

Solomon assembled chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot towns and with the king in Jerusalem.

vayyitten hammelekh et-hakkesef birushalai͏m ka'avanim ve'et ha'arazim natan kashiqmim asher-bashefelah larov

The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the Shephelah.

umotsa hassusim asher lishlomoh mimmitsrayim umiqveh sokhare hammelekh yiqkhu miqveh bimkhir

Solomon’s horses were procured from Mizraim and Kue. The king’s dealers would buy them from Kue at a fixed price.

vatta'aleh vattetse merkavah mimmitsrayim beshesh me'ot kesef vesus bakhamishim ume'ah vekhen lekhol-malkhe hakhittim ulemalkhe aram beyadam yotsi'u

A chariot imported from Mizraim cost 600 shekels of silver, and a horse 150; these in turn were exported by them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans.