The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon
1 The Queen of Sheba heard news that Solomon was a great king. So she came to ask Solomon some difficult questions to see how wise he was. She arrived at Jerusalem with a big group of servants. She had many camels that carried spices. They also carried a lot of gold and valuable jewels. When she came to Solomon, she talked to him about everything that was in her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing that was too difficult for him to explain to her. 3 The Queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She saw the palace that he had built. 4 She saw all the food that he ate in his palace. She saw all his servants and officers and their beautiful clothes. She saw the servants who prepared his food and wine. She saw the burnt offerings that he offered in the Lord's temple. All these things caused her to hold her breath in surprise.
5 She said to the king, ‘In my own country I heard news about your wisdom and about all the things that you had done. Everything that I heard was true! 6 But I did not believe those things until I came here. Now I have seen everything with my own eyes, and it is true! Really, they told me less than half of what was true! You are even wiser than the report that people told me. 7 God has blessed your people and your officers! They are always with you, and they can listen to your wise words. 8 So we should praise the Lord your God! He is happy with you and he has chosen you to rule Israel on his behalf. Your God will continue to love Israel for ever, and he will always make them strong. So he has made you king to rule them in a fair and honest way.’
9 The Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon more than four tons of gold, a lot of spices and many valuable jewels. Nobody has ever brought such a great number of spices as she gave to the king.
10 King Hiram's men had brought gold from Ophir. King Solomon's men had helped them to do this. They also brought very good wood, and valuable jewels. 11 The king used the wood to make steps for the Lord's temple and for the king's palace. He also used it to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nobody had ever seen things like those in Judah.
12 King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave more things to her than she had brought to him. Then she left with all her servants and she returned to her own country.
