The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon^(A)

10 When the queen of Sheba^(B) heard about the fame^(C) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.^{(D) 2} Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan^(E)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. ³ Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, ⁵ the food on his table,^(F) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at^[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

⁶ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁷ But I did not believe^(G) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth^(H) you have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁸ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear^(I) your wisdom! ⁹ Praise^(J) be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love^(K) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice^(L) and righteousness.”

¹⁰ And she gave the king 120 talents^[b] of gold,^(M) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;^(N) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood^[c] and precious stones. ¹² The king used the almugwood to make supports^[d] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

¹³ King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor^(O)

¹⁴ The weight of the gold^(P) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,^{[e] 15} not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred large shields^(Q) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels^[f] of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷ He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas^[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.^(R)

¹⁸ Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²¹ All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.^(S) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. ²² The king had a fleet of trading ships^[h](T) at sea along with the ships^(U) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²³ King Solomon was greater in riches^(V) and wisdom^(W) than all the other kings of the earth. ²⁴ The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom^(X) God had put in his heart. ²⁵ Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift^(Y)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁶ Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;^(Z) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,^[i] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common^(AA) in Jerusalem as stones,^(AB) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig^(AC) trees in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue^[j]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. ²⁹ They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.^[k] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites^(AD) and of the Arameans.

True Fasting

Sin, Confession and Redemption

²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant^(DF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,^(DG) who is on you, will not depart from you,^(DH) and my words that I have put in your mouth^(DI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle^(A) and set apart^(B) for the gospel of God^(C)— ² the gospel he promised beforehand^(D) through his prophets^(E) in the Holy Scriptures^{(F) 3} regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life^[a](G) was a descendant of David,^{(H) 4} and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power^[b](I) by his resurrection from the dead:^(J) Jesus Christ our Lord.^{(K) 5} Through him we received grace^(L) and apostleship to call all the Gentiles^(M) to the obedience that comes from^[c] faith^(N) for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.^(O)

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God^(P) and called to be his holy people:^(Q)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.^(R)

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,^(S) because your faith is being reported all over the world.^{(T) 9} God, whom I serve^(U) in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness^(V) how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times;^(W) and I pray that now at last by God’s will^(X) the way may be opened for me to come to you.^(Y)

¹¹ I long to see you^(Z) so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift^(AA) to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware,^(AB) brothers and sisters,^[d](AC) that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now)^(AD) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴ I am obligated^(AE) both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.^(AF)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel,^(AG) because it is the power of God^(AH) that brings salvation to everyone who believes:^(AI) first to the Jew,^(AJ) then to the Gentile.^{(AK) 17} For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed^(AL)—a righteousness that is by faith^(AM) from first to last,^[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^[f](AN)

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸ The wrath of God^(AO) is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.^{(AP) 20} For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,^(AQ) so that people are without excuse.^(AR)

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.^{(AS) 22} Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools^{(AT) 23} and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images^(AU) made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over^(AV) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{(AW) 25} They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,^(AX) and worshiped and served created things^(AY) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.^(AZ) Amen.^(BA)

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over^(BB) to shameful lusts.^(BC) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.^{(BD) 27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.^(BE)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over^(BF) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{(BG) 30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{(BH) 31} they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,^(BI) no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(BJ) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(BK) of those who practice them.