ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

2 Chronicles 9.1-12

Book: 2 Chronicles · 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, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 2. And Solomon told her all her questions; and there was not anything hid from Solomon which he told her not. 3. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 4. and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their apparel, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her. 5. 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. 6. Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: thou exceedest the fame that I heard. 7. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. 8. Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for Jehovah thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do justice and righteousness. 9. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 10. And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, that brought gold from Ophir, brought algum - trees and precious stones. 11. And the king made of the algum - trees terraces for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. 12. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants."

"13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold, 14. besides that which the traders and merchants brought: and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon." (2 Chronicles 9:1-14, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. 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. 2. Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from Solomon which he didn’t tell her. 3. When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4. the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, their clothing, his cup bearers also, their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house; there was no more spirit in her. 5. She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. 6. However I didn’t believe their words until I came, and my eyes had seen it; and behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame that I heard! 7. Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, and hear your wisdom. 8. Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God; because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever. Therefore made he you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9. She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones. There was never before such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 10. The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones. 11. The king used algum tree wood to make terraces for Yahweh’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. 12. King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants."

"13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, 14. besides that which the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon." (2 Chronicles 9:1-14, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 2. And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. 3. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 4. And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. cupbearers: or, butlers 5. And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: report: Heb. word acts: or, sayings 6. Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. 7. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. 8. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. 9. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon. 10. And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. 11. And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. terraces: or, stairs: Heb. high ways 12. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants."

"13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold; 14. Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. governors: or, captains" (2 Chronicles 9:1-14, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart, 2. and Solomon declareth to her all her matters, and there hath not been hid a thing from Solomon that he hath not declared to her. 3. And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath built, 4. and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his stewards, and their clothing, an his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been any more spirit in her. 5. And she saith unto the king, 'True [is] the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy wisdom, 6. and I have given no credence to their words, till that I have come, and mine eyes see, and lo, there hath not been declared to me the half of the abundance of thy wisdom, thou hast added unto the report that I heard. 7. 'O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants, these, who are standing before thee continually, and hearing thy wisdom. 8. Let Jehovah thy God be blessed who hath delighted in thee, to put thee on His throne for king for Jehovah thy God; in the love of thy God to Israel, to establish it to the age, He hath put thee over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.' 9. And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there hath not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba hath given to king Solomon. 10. And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone. 11. And the king maketh the algum-trees staircases for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; and there have been none seen like these before in the land of Judah. 12. And king Solomon hath given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought unto the king, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants."

"13. And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold, 14. apart from [what] the tourists, and the merchants, are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon." (2 Chronicles 9:1-14, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: narrator (traditionally Ezra)
  • Audience: post-exilic Jewish community
  • Location: post-exilic Judah
  • Time period: events c. 970-538 BC; composed c. 450-400 BC

Theological reading

Key words

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.