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1 Kings 10

The Queen of Sheba

Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came to test him with riddles.
2 She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart. 3 And 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. 4 Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then 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 blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 Blessed be 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 Then she gave the king 120 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 Also, the ships of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 And 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. 13 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

14 Now the weight of gold which came 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 Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory 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 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. 21 Now 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 the 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. 23 So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year. 26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah. 28 Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 And a chariot was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

2 Chronicles 9

The Queen of Sheba

Now 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.
2 And 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. 3 Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 5 Then 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 blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 8 Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; because your God loved Israel to cause them to stand forever, therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 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 Also, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. 11 And 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. 12 Thus 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

13 Now 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 the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, using 300 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 And 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 also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 Now 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 For 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. 22 So 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 And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, a set amount year by year. 25 And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he was the ruler over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27 The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah. 28 And they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.

The Death of Solomon

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles 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 Thus Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Revelation 18

Fallen Is Babylon

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.
2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird and a prison of every unclean and hateful beast. 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her sensuality.” 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her back even as she paid, and give her back double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning, for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. 9 “And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived sensuously with her, will cry and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ 11 “And the merchants of the earth cry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore— 12 cargo of gold and silver and precious stones 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 bronze and iron and marble, 13 and 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 human beings and human lives. 14 And the fruit you 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 merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, crying and mourning, 16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; 17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like the great city?’ 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, crying and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” 21 Then a strong angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. 22 And the 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 sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”