2 Chronicles 9

The queen of Sheba visited Solomon, bringing great riches and testing him with enigmas, which he successfully answered, impressing her with his wisdom. She praised Solomon and blessed his servants and God, who had set him as king over Israel. The queen gave Solomon many gifts, and he reciprocated with even more, and she returned to her land. Solomon's wealth and power continued to grow, with a vast amount of gold and other riches being brought to him each year, and he used these resources to create many lavish items, including a great ivory throne and gold shields.

1Also, when the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem, with great riches and with camels which were carrying aromatics, and very much gold, and precious gems, so that she might test him with enigmas. And when she had approached Solomon, she spoke to him all that was in her heart2And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her3And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built4indeed also the foods of his table, and the habitations of the servants, and the duties of his ministers, and their apparel, and also his cupbearers and their garments, and the victims which he was immolating in the house of the Lord, there was no longer any spirit in her, due to astonishment5And she said to the king: "The word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom6I did not believe those who described it, until I had arrived and my eyes had seen, and I had proven that not even half of your wisdom had been described to me. You have exceeded your fame with your virtue7Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom8Blessed is the Lord your God, who willed to set you upon his throne as a king for the Lord your God. Since God loves Israel, he wishes to preserve them unto eternity. For this reason, he appointed you as king over them, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.9Then she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great abundance of aromatics, and very precious gems. Never were there such aromatics as those that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon10Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems11And the king made, from this particular thyine wood, steps in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also harps and psalteries for the singing men. Never was there seen such wood in the land of Judah12Then king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, and all that she requested, and much more than what she had brought to him. And returning, she went away to her own land with her servants13Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold14apart from the sum that the legates of various nations and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and apart from the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of the lands, were bringing together for Solomon15And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear16and also three hundred gold shields, from three hundred gold pieces, which covered each shield. And the king placed them in the armory, which was situated in a forest17Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold18And there were six steps, by which he would ascend to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms, one on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms19Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms20Also, all the vessels for the feasts of the king were of gold, and the vessels of the forest house of Lebanon were from the purest gold. For silver in those days was considered as nothing21For indeed, the ships of the king went to Tarshish, with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. And they brought from there gold, and silver, and ivory, and primates, and peacocks22And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory23And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart24And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year25Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem26Now he also exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates as far as the land of the Philistines, and as far as the borders of Egypt27And he brought forth so much silver that it was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And cedar trees were as great in number as the sycamores that spring up in the plains28And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region29Now the rest of the works of Solomon, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah, the Shilonite, as well as in the vision of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nabat30And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years31And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place
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