1 Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions.2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels weighted down with spices, and stores of gold and jewels: and when she came to Solomon she had talk with him of everything in her mind.3 And Solomon gave her answers to all her questions; there was no secret which the king did not make clear to her.4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had made,5 And the food at his table, and all his servants seated there, and those who were waiting on him in their places, and their robes, and his wine-servants, and the burned offerings which he made in the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.6 And she said to the king, The account which was given to me in my country of your acts and your wisdom was true.7 But I had no faith in what was said about you, till I came and saw for myself; and now I see that it was not half the story; your wisdom and your wealth are much greater than they said.8 Happy are your wives, happy are these your servants whose place is ever before you, hearing your words of wisdom.9 May the Lord your God be praised, whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; because the Lord's love for Israel is eternal, he has made you king, to be their judge in righteousness.10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a great store of spices and jewels: never again was such a wealth of spices seen as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.11 And the sea-force of Hiram, in addition to gold from Ophir, came back with much sandal-wood and jewels.12 And from the sandal-wood the king made pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, and instruments of music for the makers of melody: never has such sandal-wood been seen to this day.13 And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she made request for, in addition to what he gave her freely from the impulse of his heart. So she went back to her country, she and her servants.14 Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents;15 In addition to what came to him from the business of the traders, and from all the kings of the Arabians, and from the rulers of the country.16 And Solomon made two hundred body-covers of hammered gold, every one having six hundred shekels of gold in it.17 And he made three hundred smaller body-covers of hammered gold, with three pounds of gold in every cover: and the king put them in the house of the Woods of Lebanon.18 Then the king made a great ivory seat, plated with the best gold.19 There were six steps going up to it, and the top of it was round at the back, there were arms on the two sides of the seat, and two lions by the side of the arms;20 And twelve lions were placed on the one side and on the other side on the six steps: there was nothing like it in any kingdom.21 And all King Solomon's drinking-vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the Woods of Lebanon were of the best gold; not one was of silver, for no one gave a thought to silver in the days of King Solomon.22 For the king had Tarshish-ships at sea with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the Tarshish-ships came with gold and silver and ivory and monkeys and peacocks.23 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.24 And from all over the earth they came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.25 And everyone took with him an offering, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and robes, and coats of metal, and spices, and horses, and beasts of transport, regularly year by year.26 And Solomon got together war-carriages and horsemen; he had one thousand, four hundred carriages and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king at Jerusalem.27 And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedars like the sycamore-trees of the lowlands in number.28 And Solomon's horses came from Egypt and from Kue; the king's traders got them at a price from Kue.29 A war-carriage might be got from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; they got them at the same rate for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

1 Sed et regina Saba, audita fama Salomonis in nomine Domini, venit tentare eum in ænigmatibus. 2 Et ingressa Jerusalem multo cum comitatu et divitiis, camelis portantibus aromata, et aurum infinitum nimis, et gemmas pretiosas, venit ad regem Salomonem, et locuta est ei universa quæ habebat in corde suo. 3 Et docuit eam Salomon omnia verba quæ proposuerat : non fuit sermo qui regem posset latere, et non responderet ei. 4 Videns autem regina Saba omnem sapientiam Salomonis, et domum quam ædificaverat, 5 et cibos mensæ ejus, et habitacula servorum, et ordines ministrantium, vestesque eorum, et pincernas, et holocausta quæ offerebat in domo Domini : non habebat ultra spiritum. 6 Dixitque ad regem : Verus est sermo quem audivi in terra mea 7 super sermonibus tuis, et super sapientia tua : et non credebam narrantibus mihi, donec ipsa veni, et vidi oculis meis, et probavi quod media pars mihi nuntiata non fuerit : major est sapientia et opera tua, quam rumor quem audivi. 8 Beati viri tui, et beati servi tui, qui stant coram te semper, et audiunt sapientiam tuam. 9 Sit Dominus Deus tuus benedictus, cui complacuisti, et posuit te super thronum Israël, eo quod dilexerit Dominus Israël in sempiternum, et constituit te regem ut faceres judicium et justitiam. 10 Dedit ergo regi centum viginti talenta auri, et aromata multa nimis, et gemmas pretiosas : non sunt allata ultra aromata tam multa, quam ea quæ dedit regina Saba regi Salomoni.11 (Sed et classis Hiram, quæ portabat aurum de Ophir, attulit ex Ophir ligna thyina multa nimis, et gemmas pretiosas. 12 Fecitque rex de lignis thyinis fulcra domus Domini et domus regiæ, et citharas lyrasque cantoribus : non sunt allata hujuscemodi ligna thyina, neque visa usque in præsentem diem.) 13 Rex autem Salomon dedit reginæ Saba omnia quæ voluit et petivit ab eo, exceptis his quæ ultro obtulerat ei munere regio. Quæ reversa est, et abiit in terram suam cum servis suis. 14 Erat autem pondus auri quod afferebatur Salomoni per annos singulos, sexcentorum sexaginta sex talentorum auri, 15 excepto eo quod afferebant viri qui super vectigalia erant, et negotiatores, universique scruta vendentes, et omnes reges Arabiæ, ducesque terræ. 16 Fecit quoque rex Salomon ducenta scuta de auro purissimo : sexcentos auri siclos dedit in laminas scuti unius. 17 Et trecentas peltas ex auro probato : trecentæ minæ auri unam peltam vestiebant : posuitque eas rex in domo saltus Libani. 18 Fecit etiam rex Salomon thronum de ebore grandem : et vestivit eum auro fulvo nimis, 19 qui habebat sex gradus : et summitas throni rotunda erat in parte posteriori : et duæ manus hinc atque inde tenentes sedile : et duo leones stabant juxta manus singulas. 20 Et duodecim leunculi stantes super sex gradus hinc atque inde : non est factum tale opus in universis regnis. 21 Sed et omnia vasa quibus potabat rex Salomon, erant aurea : et universa supellex domus saltus Libani de auro purissimo : non erat argentum, nec alicujus pretii putabatur in diebus Salomonis, 22 quia classis regis per mare cum classe Hiram semel per tres annos ibat in Tharsis, deferens inde aurum, et argentum, et dentes elephantorum, et simias, et pavos.23 Magnificatus est ergo rex Salomon super omnes reges terræ divitiis et sapientia. 24 Et universa terra desiderabat vultum Salomonis, ut audiret sapientiam ejus, quam dederat Deus in corde ejus. 25 Et singuli deferebant ei munera, vasa argentea et aurea, vestes et arma bellica, aromata quoque, et equos et mulos per annos singulos. 26 Congregavitque Salomon currus et equites, et facti sunt ei mille quadringenti currus, et duodecim millia equitum : et disposuit eos per civitates munitas, et cum rege in Jerusalem. 27 Fecitque ut tanta esset abundantia argenti in Jerusalem, quanta et lapidum : et cedrorum præbuit multitudinem quasi sycomoros quæ nascuntur in campestribus. 28 Et educebantur equi Salomoni de Ægypto, et de Coa. Negotiatores enim regis emebant de Coa, et statuto pretio perducebant. 29 Egrediebatur autem quadriga ex Ægypto sexcentis siclis argenti, et equus centum quinquaginta. Atque in hunc modum cuncti reges Hethæorum et Syriæ equos venundabant.