The Second Book of the Chronicles

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- Kapitel 9 -

(1 Kings 10:1–13)

The queen who ruled the Sheba area in Arabia heard that Solomon had become famous, so she traveled to Jerusalem to ask him questions that were difficult to answer. She came with a large group of servants, and she brought camels that were loaded with spices, and valuable gems. When she arrived, she shared her thoughts with him.

Solomon answered all her questions. He explained everything that she asked about, even things that were very difficult.

The queen realized that Solomon was very wise. She saw his palace,

she saw the food that was served on his table every day, she saw where his officials lived, their uniforms, the servants who served the food and wine, and the sacrifices that he took to the temple to be offered. She was extremely amazed.

She said to the king, “Everything that I heard in my own country about you and about how wise you are is true!

But I did not believe it was true until I came here and saw it myself. You are extremely wise and rich, even more than what people told me.

The men who work for you are very fortunate! Your servants who are constantly standing in front of you and listening to the wise things that you say are also fortunate!

I praise Yahweh your God, who has shown that he is pleased with you by appointing you to be the king of Israel for him. God has always loved the Israelite people, and he desires to assist them forever, so he has appointed you to be their king, in order that you will rule them fairly and righteously.”

Then the queen gave to Solomon about four metric tons of gold and a large amount of spices and gemstones. Never had King Solomon received more spices than the queen gave him at that time.

King Solomon gave to the queen from Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave her more than she had given to him. Then she and those who came with her returned to her own land.

The men of Hiram worked with the men of Solomon to bring gold from Ophir. They also brought a large amount of algum wood. The wood was used to make steps for the house of Yahweh, and they also used the wood to make harps and lyres for those who played music.

No one in all the land of Judah had ever seen anything like the quality of the algum wood that was used to make the steps and the instruments.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

(1 Kings 10:14–29)

Each year there was brought to Solomon about twenty-two metric tons of gold. That was in addition to the taxes paid to him by the merchants and traders.

Also, the kings of Arabia and the governors of the districts in Israel brought gold and silver to Solomon.

King Solomon’s workers took this gold and hammered it into thin sheets and covered two hundred large shields with those thin sheets of gold; they put about six and one-half kilograms of gold on each shield.

His workers made three hundred smaller shields. They covered each of them with one and three-quarters kilograms of gold. Then the king put those shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

His workers also made for him a large throne. Part of it was covered with ivory and part of it was covered with very fine gold.

There were six steps in front of the throne. There was a gold footstool that was attached to the throne. At each side of the throne there was an armrest, and alongside each armrest there was a statue of a lion.

So there were twelve statues of lions. No throne like that had ever existed in any other kingdom.

All of Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the various dishes in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were made of gold. They did not make things from silver, because during the years that Solomon ruled, silver was not considered to be valuable.

The king had a fleet of ships capable of sailing far out on the ocean. It sailed along with Hiram’s merchant fleet. Every three years the fleet brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.

King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.

Kings from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said, things that God had put into his mind.

All the people who came to him brought presents: things made from silver or gold; they also brought robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. The merchants continued to do this every year.

Solomon had four thousand stalls for his horses and chariots, and twelve thousand men who rode horses. Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots.

Solomon ruled over all the kings in the area from the Euphrates River in the northeast, to the region of Philistia in the west, and to the border of Egypt in the south.

During the years that Solomon was king, he caused silver to become as common in Jerusalem as stone; and he caused cedar trees in the foothills of Judah to become as plentiful as sycamore fig trees.

Solomon’s agents brought horses to the land of Judah from Egypt and from many other lands.

The Death of Solomon

(1 Kings 11:41–43)

Lists of all the other things that Solomon did are written in the scrolls written by the prophet Nathan, and by the prophet Ahijah from the city of Shiloh, and in the scroll in which was written the visions of the prophet Iddo (a scroll in which Iddo’s visions about Jeroboam son of Nebat were also written).

Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all of Israel for forty years.

Then Solomon died; they buried him in the part of Jerusalem called ‘the city of David.’ And his son Rehoboam became the next king.

(1 Kings 10:1–13)

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.

Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from Solomon which he didn’t tell her.

When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

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)

She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom.

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!

Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom.

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.”

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.

The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees

(c)

and precious stones.

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.

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)

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents

(d)

of gold,

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.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels(e) of beaten gold went to one large shield.

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.

Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

They each brought tribute: vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules every year.

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.

He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

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.

They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt and out of all lands.

The Death of Solomon

(1 Kings 11:41–43)

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?

Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

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

(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.