Legacy Standard Bible

1 Kings 10

The Queen of Sheba

10aNow the bqueen of cSheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came dto test him with riddles. 2She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels acarrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart. 3And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; there was not a matter which was hidden from the king which he did not declare to her. 4Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and 1his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 6Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7“Nevertheless I did not believe those words, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not declared to 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 Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; bbecause Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, cto do justice and righteousness.” 10aThen she gave the king 1120 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.
11aAlso, the ships of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12aAnd the king made of the almug trees supports for the house of Yahweh 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.
13Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to 1his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

14aNow the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15besides that from the traders and the 1wares of the merchants and all the kings of the aArabs and the governors of the country. 16aAnd King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, 1using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17And he made a300 shields of beaten gold, 1using 2three minas of gold on each shield, and bthe king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18Moreover, the king made a great throne of aivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and 1arms 2on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the 3arms. 20Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. 21Now 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 1valuable in the days of Solomon. 22For athe king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
23aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ato hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25aAnd they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.
26aAnd Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and 1stationed them in the bchariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27aThe king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the 1Shephelah. 28aSolomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29And a chariot 1was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and 2by the same means they exported them ato all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

2 Chronicles 9

The Queen of Sheba

9aNow the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; and not a matter was hidden from Solomon which he did not declare to her. 3Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and 1his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 5Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6“Nevertheless I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You exceed the report which I heard. 7“How 1blessed are your men, how 2blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 8“Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, ato set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; bbecause your God loved Israel to cause them to stand forever, therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9Then she gave the king 1120 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.
10Also, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, awho brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. 11And the king made of the algum trees steps for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.
12Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned around and went to her own land together with her servants.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

13aNow the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14besides 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. 15And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, 1using 2600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, 1using 2300 shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
17Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18And there were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and 1arms 2on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the 3arms. 19Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20Now 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 1valuable in the days of Solomon. 21aFor the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
22aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 24aAnd they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, a set amount year by year.
25And 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. 26aAnd he was the ruler over all the kings from the 1River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27aThe king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the 1Shephelah. 28aAnd they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.

The Death of Solomon

29aNow the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, bare they not written in the 1chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of 2Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30aThus Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. 31And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in athe city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Revelation 18

Fallen Is Babylon

18After these things I saw another aangel bcoming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was cillumined with his glory. 2And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “1,aFallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she bhas become a dwelling place of demons and a 2prison of every cunclean spirit, and a 3prison of every unclean bird 4and a 5prison of every unclean and hateful beast. 3“For all the nations 1have drunk of the awine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and bthe kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the cmerchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her 2,dsensuality.”
4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “aCome out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5for her sins have 1,apiled up as high as heaven, and God has bremembered her iniquities. 6“aPay her back even as she paid, and 1give her back double according to her deeds; in the bcup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7“aTo the degree that she glorified herself and blived 1sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning, for she says in her heart, ‘cI sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8“For this reason ain one day her plagues will come, 1pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be bburned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her cis strong.
9“And athe kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and blived 1sensuously with her, will ccry and lament over her when they dsee the smoke of her burning, 10astanding at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘bWoe, woe, cthe great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in done hour your judgment has come.’
11“And the amerchants of the earth bcry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore— 12cargo of agold and silver and precious 1stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from precious wood and 2bronze and iron and marble, 13and cinnamon and amomum and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargo of horses and carriages and 1human beings and 2,ahuman lives. 14“And the fruit 1you long for has gone from you, and all things that were splendid and shining have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15“The amerchants of bthese things, who became rich from her, will cstand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, crying and mourning, 16saying, ‘aWoe, woe, bthe great city, she who cwas clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and 1adorned with gold and precious 2stones and pearls; 17for in aone hour such great wealth has been laid bwaste!’ And cevery shipmaster and every 1passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, dstood at a distance, 18and were acrying out as they bsaw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘cWhat is like dthe great city?’ 19“And they threw adust on their heads and were crying out, crying and mourning, saying, ‘bWoe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships at sea cbecame rich by her 1wealth, for in done hour she has been laid ewaste!’ 20“aRejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and bapostles and prophets, because cGod has 1pronounced judgment for you against her.”
21Then 1a astrong angel bpicked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, cthe great city, be thrown down with violence, and dwill not be found any longer. 22“And athe sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the bsound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the avoice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your bmerchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived cby your sorcery. 24“And in her was found the ablood of prophets and of saints and of ball who have been slain on the earth.”

Song of Songs 7

7“1How beautiful are your 2feet in sandals,O anoble’s daughter!The curves of your thighs are like ornaments,The work of the hands of an artist.2“Your navel is like a round basinWhich never lacks mixed wine;Your belly is like a heap of wheatEncircled with lilies.3“Your atwo breasts are like two fawns,Twins of a gazelle.4“Your aneck is like a tower of ivory,Your eyes like the pools in bHeshbonBy the gate of Bath-rabbim;Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,Which faces toward Damascus.5“Your head 1crowns you like aCarmel,And the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads;The king is captivated by your tresses.6“How abeautiful and how pleasant you are,1My love, with all your pleasures!7“1Your stature is like a palm tree,And your breasts are like its clusters.8“I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree;I will seize its fruit stalks.’Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,And the fragrance of your 1breath like 2,aapples,9And your 1,amouth like the best wine!”“2It bgoes down smoothly for my beloved,Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep.

The Union of Love

10“aI am my beloved’s,And his bdesire is for me.11“Come, my beloved, let us go out into the 1fields,Let us spend the night in the villages.12“Let us rise early and go to the vineyards;Let us asee whether the vine has flourishedAnd its blossoms have opened,And whether the pomegranates have bloomed.There I will give you my love.13“The amandrakes have given forth fragrance;And over our doors are all bchoice fruits,Both new and old,Which I have treasured up for you, my beloved.