Historical
Queen of Sheba Marvels
10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon because of the Name of Adonai, she came to test him with hard questions. [a] 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels carrying spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him of all that was on her heart. 3 Solomon answered all her questions nothing was hidden from the king that he did not explain to her. 4 So when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace that he had built, 5 the food at his table, the seating of his courtiers, the attendance of his servants and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offering which he offered in the House of Adonai, she was left breathless.
6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your deeds and of your wisdom. 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and my eyes saw it. Indeed, not even the half was told to me. You’re way past the report of wisdom and prosperity that I’d heard! 8 Blessed are your people, blessed are your courtiers who are standing continually before you, listening to your wisdom. 9 Blessed be Adonai your God, who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. It is because of Adonai’s everlasting love for Israel that He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”
10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come as what the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Also Hiram’s ships that brought gold from Ophir brought from Ophir a great quantity of sandalwood and precious stones. 12 The king made from the sandalwood a railing for the House of Adonai and for the royal palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Never again did such quantity of sandalwood come in, nor have they been seen to this day.
13 So King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire—whatever she asked for—besides what King Solomon gave her out of his royal bounty. Then she and her servants left and returned to her own land.
Solomon’s Splendor
14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides what was from the merchants from the traffic of the traders, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the region. 16 King Solomon made 200 full body shields of beaten gold—600 shekels[b] of gold on each shield— 17 and 300 small shields of beaten gold—three minas[c] of gold on each shield. The king put them in the Forest House of Lebanon. 18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the throne had a back with a rounded top, and there were armrests on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps—six on each side—nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
21 All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the Forest House of Lebanon were of pure gold. (None was of silver—that did not count for anything in the days of Solomon.) 22 For the king had a Tarshish fleet at sea with Hiram’s fleet; once every three years the Tarshish fleet came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.[d]
23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth as well as in wisdom. 24 All the earth sought an audience with Solomon, to listen to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 They brought, each man his gift—vessels of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses and mules—so much year by year. 26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 Also the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were brought from Egypt and from Keveh. The king’s merchants would buy them from Keveh at a price 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and in turn they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
Decline of Solomon
11 Now King Solomon loved so many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom Adonai had said to the children of Israel: “You shall not associate with them nor they associate with you, for surely they would turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon clung to them for love. 3 So he had 700 wives as princesses and 300 concubines—and his women led his heart astray. 4 For it came about, as Solomon grew old, that his wives led his heart away after other gods, so that his heart was no longer wholly devoted to Adonai his God, unlike the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Adonai and did not fully follow after Adonai, unlike his father David.
7 At that time Solomon also built a high place for Chemosh, the detested thing of Moab, on the mountain near Jerusalem, as well as for Molech the detested thing of the children of Ammon. 8 Thus he did for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.
9 So Adonai became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Adonai, the God of Israel—who had appeared to him twice. 10 He had commanded him about this, that he should not go after other gods, yet he did not keep what Adonai had commanded. 11 So Adonai said to Solomon: “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days for David your father’s sake; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear away the whole kingdom, but will give one tribe to your son for My servant David ‘s sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
14 Then Adonai raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the royal line in Edom. 15 Earlier, when David was at war with Edom, Joab, commander of the army, went up to bury the slain, and had struck down every male in Edom. 16 Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom. 17 But Hadad and some Edomites, servants of his father, had fled to Egypt, while Hadad was a small boy. 18 Setting out from Midian they came to Paran and took men from Paran along with them, and went to Egypt—to Pharaoh king of Egypt—who gave him a house, allotted him food and gave him land. 19 Then Hadad found great favor in Pharaoh’s eyes, so that he gave him his own sister-in-law, the sister of Queen Tahpenes, as wife. 20 The sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath. Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace and Genubath remained in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons.
21 Now when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh: “Let me leave so I may go to my own country.”
22 Then Pharaoh replied to him, “What do you lack with me, that all of a sudden, you seek to go back to your own country?”
“Nothing,” he answered. “Nevertheless let me go anyway.”
23 Then God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord King Hadad-ezer of Zobah, 24 when David killed them. He then gathered men to himself and became the leader of a marauding band that went to Damascus and dwelt there and gained control in Damascus. 25 Rezon was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble that was Hadad. He despised Israel, while he reigned over Aram.
Prophecy to Jeroboam
26 Then there was Jeroboam son of Nebat (the name of his mother, a widow, was Zeruah), an Ephraimite of Zereda. Though he was Solomon’s servant, he also raised a hand against the king. 27 Now the reason that he raised a hand against the king was this: Solomon built the Millo and closed the breach of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was mighty of strength, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he appointed him over the entire labor force of the house of Joseph.
29 It was around that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had covered himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah seized the new cloak that was on him, tore it into twelve pieces, 31 and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for thus says Adonai, God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and will give ten tribes to you. 32 But he will have one tribe, for My servant David’s sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
33 “‘For they have abandoned Me and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will keep him as a ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, because he kept My mitzvot and My statutes. 35 Yet I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and I will give it to you—the ten tribes. 36 To his son I will give one tribe so that My servant David may have a lamp every day before Me in Jerusalem, the city that I chose for Myself to put My Name there.
37 “So I will take you and you will reign over all that your soul desires—you will be king over Israel. 38 Then it will be, if you obey everything I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My eyes, keeping My statutes and My mitzvot as My servant David did, then I will be with you, and will establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David—I will give Israel to you. 39 So I will for this afflict David’s seed, but not for all days.”[e]
40 Therefore Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam got up and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt. He remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon. 41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom—are they not recorded in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 So the days of Solomon’s kingship in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. 43 Then Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam was king in his place.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.