2 Chronicles 9:1-12
Solomon Entertains a Queen
1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, ▼▼tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
she came to challenge ▼▼tn Or “test.”
him ▼▼tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
with difficult questions. ▼▼tn Or “riddles.”
She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, ▼▼tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
bringing with her camels carrying spices, ▼▼tn Or “balsam oil.”
a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 2Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. ▼ 3When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s wisdom, the palace ▼▼tn Heb “house.”
he had built, 4the food in his banquet hall, ▼▼tn Heb “the food on his table.”
his servants and attendants ▼▼tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, ▼▼tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the Lord.” But עֲלִיָּתוֹ (ʿaliyyato, “his upper room”) should be emended to עֹלָתוֹ, (ʿolato, “his burnt sacrifice[s]”). See the parallel account in 1 Kgs 10:5.
she was amazed. ▼▼tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
5She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight ▼▼tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
was true! 6I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! ▼▼tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. 7Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! ▼▼tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
8May the Lord your God be praised because he favored ▼▼tn Or “delighted in.”
you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf. ▼▼tn Heb “as king for the Lord your God.”
Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, ▼▼tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” ▼▼tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
9She gave the king 120 talents ▼▼tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. ▼▼tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
10(Huram’s ▼▼tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as ▼▼tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
fine ▼▼tn Heb “algum.”
timber and precious gems. 11With the timber the king made steps ▼▼tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments ▼▼tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah before that. ▼▼tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
) 12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. ▼▼tn Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
Then she left and returned ▼▼tn Heb “turned and went.”
to her homeland with her attendants.
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