ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Kings 10.1-13

Book: 1 Kings · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions. 2. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not. 4. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 5. and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her. 6. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom. 7. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. 8. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. 9. Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because Jehovah loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do justice and righteousness. 10. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug - trees and precious stones. 12. And the king made of the almug - trees pillars for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for the singers: there came no such almug - trees, nor were seen, unto this day. 13. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants."

"14. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, 15. besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country." (1 Kings 10:1-15, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. 2. She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. 3. Solomon answered all her questions. There was not anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her. 4. When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5. the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house; there was no more spirit in her. 6. She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom. 7. However I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. 8. Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. 9. Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 10. She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was there such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11. The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees and precious stones. 12. The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house, and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen, to this day. 13. King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants."

"14. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, 15. besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country." (1 Kings 10:1-15, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. 2. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. questions: Heb. words 4. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, 5. And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. attendance: Heb. standing cupbearers: or, butlers 6. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. report: Heb. word acts: or, sayings 7. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. thy: Heb. thou hast added wisdom and goodness to 8. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. 9. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. 10. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. 12. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. pillars: or, rails: Heb. a prop 13. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. of his: Heb. according to the hand of king Solomon"

"14. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, 15. Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. governors: or, captains" (1 Kings 10:1-15, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, and cometh to try him with enigmas, 2. and she cometh to Jerusalem, with a very great company, camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stone, and she cometh unto Solomon, and speaketh unto him all that hath been with her heart. 3. And Solomon declareth to her all her matters, there hath not been a thing hid from the king that he hath not declared to her. 4. And the queen of Sheba seeth all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he built, 5. and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his butlers, and his burnt-offering that he causeth to ascend in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been in her any more spirit. 6. And she saith unto the king, 'True hath been the word that I heard in my land, concerning thy matters and thy wisdom; 7. and I gave no credence to the words till that I have come, and my eyes see, and lo, it was not declared to me, the half; thou hast added wisdom and goodness unto the report that I heard. 8. O the happiness of thy men, O the happiness of thy servants, these, who are standing before thee continually, who are hearing thy wisdom! 9. Jehovah thy God is blessed who delighted in thee, to put thee on the throne of Israel; in Jehovah's loving Israel to the age He doth set thee for king, to do judgment and righteousness. 10. And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices very many, and precious stone; there came not like that spice any more for abundance that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11. And also, the navy of Hiram that bore gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir almug-trees very many, and precious stone; 12. and the king maketh the almug-trees a support for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; there have not come such almug-trees, nor have there been seen [such] unto this day. 13. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which he gave to her as a memorial of king Solomon, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants."

"14. And the weight of the gold that hath come to Solomon in one year is six hundred sixty and six talents of gold, 15. apart from [that of] the tourists, and of the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the land." (1 Kings 10:1-15, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: narrator (anonymous; deuteronomistic-school)
  • Audience: exilic / post-exilic Israel
  • Location: united and divided kingdoms (Israel + Judah)
  • Time period: events c. 970-850 BC; composed c. 600-550 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.