1 Kings 10

All 29 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame related to the name of the LORD, she traveled to test him with difficult questions.
2. 2She arrived in Jerusalem with an enormous caravan — camels loaded with spices, a huge amount of gold, and precious stones. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything on her mind.
3. 3Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he did not explain to her.
4. 4When the queen of Sheba had witnessed Solomon's wisdom firsthand, seen the palace he had built,
5. 5the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his ministers, their clothing, his cupbearers, and the stairway he used to go up to the house of the LORD. There was no more spirit in her.
6. 6She told the king, "Everything I heard back in my own country about your accomplishments and your wisdom was true.
7. 7I didn't believe any of it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. And honestly, I wasn't even told half of it! Your wisdom and wealth far surpass the reports I heard."
8. 8Happy are your men, happy are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom.
9. 9May the LORD your God be blessed, for he was pleased with you and set you on the throne of Israel. Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he made you king to carry out judgment and justice.
10. 10Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, an enormous quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such an abundance of spices come as what the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11. 11Hiram's fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought back large quantities of almug wood and precious stones from there.
12. 12The king used the almug trees to make pillars for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, as well as harps and lyres for the singers. No more almug trees like these have come or been seen to this day.
13. 13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for, on top of the gifts he gave her from his own royal generosity. Then she and her servants left and returned to her own country.
14. 14The weight of gold that came to Solomon in a single year totaled 666 talents of gold,
15. 15Besides what he received from the merchants, the trade of the spice merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country.
16. 16King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, using 600 shekels of gold for each shield.
17. 17He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, using three pounds of gold for each one. The king placed them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
18. 18Moreover, the king made a magnificent throne of ivory and covered it with the finest gold.
19. 19The throne had 6 steps leading up to it, and the back of the throne was rounded at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
20. 2012 lions stood along the 6 steps, one on each side of every step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any kingdom in the world.
21. 21All of King Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and every piece in the House of the Forest of Lebanon was pure gold. None were made of silver, as silver was not valued in Solomon's time.
22. 22The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea alongside Hiram's fleet. Once every 3 years, the ships of Tarshish would return carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23. 23King Solomon surpassed every other king on earth in both wealth and wisdom.
24. 24People from all over the world came to Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had placed in his heart.
25. 25Year after year, each visitor brought gifts — silver and gold items, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules.
26. 26Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with him in Jerusalem.
27. 27Under Solomon, silver became as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedar wood was as plentiful as the sycamore trees in the lowlands.
28. 28Solomon had horses imported from Egypt, along with linen. The king's merchants bought the linen at a set price.
29. 29A chariot was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150 shekels. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.