1 Kings 10-11
The Queen of Sheba
aNow when the aqueen of bSheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came cto test him with difficult questions. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels acarrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 How ablessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 aBlessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; bbecause the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, cto do justice and righteousness.” 10 aShe gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
11 aAlso the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 aThe king made of the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.
13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land together with her servants.
Wealth, Splendor and Wisdom
14 aNow the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the wares of the merchants and all the kings of the aArabs and the governors of the country. 16 aKing Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 He made a300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and bthe king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of aivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For athe king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
23 aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ato hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 aThey brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 aNow Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the bchariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 aThe king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 aAlso Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 A chariot was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them ato all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.
Solomon Turns from God
Now aKing Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “aYou shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. 3 aHe had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and ahis heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after aAshtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after bMilcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for aChemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for bMolech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now athe Lord was angry with Solomon bbecause his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, cwho had appeared to him twice, 10 and ahad commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, aI will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, aI will not tear away all the kingdom, but bI will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and cfor the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
God Raises Adversaries
14 Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal line in Edom. 15 For it came about, awhen David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had bstruck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel stayed there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. 18 They arose from Midian and came to aParan; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. 19 Now Hadad found great favor before Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But awhen Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Send me away, that I may go to my own country.” 22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that behold, you are seeking to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must surely let me go.”
23 aGod also raised up another adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord bHadadezer king of Zobah. 24 He gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, aafter David slew them of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the evil that Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Aram.
26 Then aJeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, balso rebelled against the king. 27 Now this was the reason why he rebelled against the king: aSolomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when aSolomon saw that the young man was industrious, he appointed him over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 It came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that athe prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. 30 Then aAhijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, aI will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes 32 (abut he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, bthe city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken Me, and ahave worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, bChemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing 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 make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; 35 but aI will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you, even ten tribes. 36 But ato his son I will give one tribe, bthat My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, athe city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 37 I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then aI will be with you and bbuild you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 Thus I will afflict the descendants of David for this, but not always.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to aShishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
The Death of Solomon
41 aNow the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 Thus athe time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon aslept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son bRehoboam reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 9
Visit of the Queen of Sheba
aNow when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She had a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from Solomon which he did not explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless. 5 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 Nevertheless I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You surpass the report that I heard. 7 How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 8 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, asetting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; bbecause your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones; there had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon awho brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones. 11 From the algum trees the king made steps for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.
12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her own land with her servants.
Solomon’s Wealth and Power
13 aNow the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all athe kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three hundred shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 aFor the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
22 aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 24 aThey brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year.
25 Now Solomon had a4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 aHe was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River even to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt. 27 aThe king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 aAnd they were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.
29 aNow the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, bare they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 aSolomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel.
Death of Solomon
31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in athe city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
1 Timothy 6
Instructions to Those Who Minister
aAll who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so bthat the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. 2 Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are abrethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. bTeach and preach these principles.
3 If anyone aadvocates a different doctrine and does not agree with bsound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine cconforming to godliness, 4 he is aconceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in bcontroversial questions and cdisputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between amen of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who bsuppose that godliness is a means of gain. 6 aBut godliness actually is a means of bgreat gain when accompanied by ccontentment. 7 For awe have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 If we ahave food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 aBut those who want to get rich fall into temptation and ba snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For athe love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have bwandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But aflee from these things, you bman of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, cfaith, dlove, perseverance and gentleness. 12 aFight the good fight of bfaith; ctake hold of the eternal life dto which you were called, and you made the good econfession in the presence of fmany witnesses. 13 aI charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of bChrist Jesus, who testified the cgood confession dbefore Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the aappearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at athe proper time—He who is bthe blessed and conly Sovereign, dthe King of kings and eLord of lords, 16 awho alone possesses immortality and bdwells in unapproachable light, cwhom no man has seen or can see. aTo Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in athis present world bnot to be conceited or to cfix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, dwho richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in agood works, bto be generous and ready to share, 19 astoring up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may btake hold of that which is life indeed.
20 O aTimothy, guard bwhat has been entrusted to you, avoiding cworldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus agone astray from bthe faith.
cGrace be with you.
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