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The Second Book of the Chronicles

Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic

- Kapitel 9 -

(1 Kings 10:1–13)
1
Also, 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 heart.
2
And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her.
3
And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
4
indeed 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 astonishment.
5
And she said to the king: “The word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom.
6
I 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 virtue.
7
Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom.
8
Blessed 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.”
9
Then 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 Solomon.(a)
10
Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems.
11
And 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 Judah.
12
Then 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 servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

(1 Kings 10:14–29)
13
Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
14
apart 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 Solomon.
15
And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear,
16
and 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 forest.
17
Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold.
18
And 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 arms.
19
Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms.
20
Also, 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 nothing.
21
For 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 peacocks.
22
And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory.
23
And 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 heart.
24
And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.
25
Also, 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 Jerusalem.
26
Now 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 Egypt.
27
And 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 plains.
28
And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region.

The Death of Solomon

(1 Kings 11:41–43)
29
Now 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 Nabat.
30
And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years.
31
And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place.

Fußnoten

(a)9:9 The term aromatics is often translated as spices. However, this item is not mainly spices used with foods, but aromatic compounds from plants used in perfumes, ointments, incense, and the like.(Conte)
(1 Kings 10:1–13)
1
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to test Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great caravan, including camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. When she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart.
2
Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from Solomon which he didn’t tell her.
3
When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
4
the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, their clothing, his cup bearers and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to the LORD’s house, there was no more spirit in her.(a)
5
She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom.
6
However I didn’t believe their words until I came, and my eyes had seen it; and behold half of the greatness of your wisdom wasn’t told me. You exceed the fame that I heard!
7
Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom.
8
Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you and set you on his throne to be king for the LORD your God, because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever. Therefore he made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”
9
She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents (b) of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones. There was never before such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10
The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees (c) and precious stones.
11
The king used algum tree wood to make terraces for the LORD’s house and for the king’s house, and harps and stringed instruments for the singers. There were none like these seen before in the land of Judah.
12
King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, more than that which she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

(1 Kings 10:14–29)
13
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents (d) of gold,
14
in addition to that which the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels(e) of beaten gold went to one large shield.
16
He made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three hundred shekels(f) of gold went to one shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17
Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
18
There were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.
19
Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. There was nothing like it made in any other kingdom.
20
All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.
21
For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Once every three years, the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22
So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23
All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
24
They each brought tribute: vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules every year.
25
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen that he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
26
He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
27
The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as abundant as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
28
They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt and out of all lands.

The Death of Solomon

(1 Kings 11:41–43)
29
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, aren’t they written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
30
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31
Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in his father David’s city; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Fußnoten

(a)9:4 or, she was breathless.
(b)9:9 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 120 talents is about 3.6 metric tons
(c)9:10 possibly Indian sandalwood, which has nice grain and a pleasant scent and is good for woodworking
(d)9:13 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons
(e)9:15 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels was about 6 kilograms or about 192 Troy ounces.
(f)9:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 300 shekels was about 3 kilograms or about 96 Troy ounces.