The Byble in Englyshe that is to saye, the content of all the holye scrypture, bothe of the olde and newe Testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by the diligent studye of dyuers excellent lerned [men e]xperte in the fore[saide] tongues.

¶ The name of Saba cōmeth to heare the wysdom of Salomon, whose royaltye is here discry••ed.

CAPI. X.

ANd the quene * 1.1 of Saba hearynge the [unspec A] fame of Salomon (cōcernynge the name of the Lorde) came to proue hym with harde questions. And she came to Ierusalem with a very great trayne: with Camelles that bare swete odoures, & golde excedyng moche, and precyous stones. And she came to Salomō, & comuned w^t hym of all that was in her herte. And Salomon declared vnto her al her questi¦ons, so that there was not one thyng hyd frō the kynge, which he expounded not vnto her.

And the quene of Saba consydered all Salomons wysdome, and the house that he had buylded, and the meate of his table, and ☞ the syttyng of his seruauntes, the order of his ministers, and theyr apparell, his drynke and his burntsacrifices that he offred in the house of the Lorde, and she was astonyed.

And she sayd vnto the kyng, It was a true [unspec B] worde that I herde in myne owne lande of thy sayenges, and of thy wysdome. Howbeit I byleued it not, tyl I came, and sawe it with myne eyes. And beholde, the one halfe was not tolde me: for thy wysdome and prosperite excedeth the same whiche I herde of the.

Happy are thy men: and happy are these thy seruauntes, whiche stande euer before the, & heare thy wysdome. Blessed be the Lorde thy God, whiche loued the, to set the on the seate of Israel, bycause the lorde loued Israell for euer, and made the kynge, to do equite and rygteousnesse. And she gaue the kynge syxe score hundred weyght of golde, and of swete odoures excedyng moche, and precyous sto∣nes. There came no more such haboundaūce of swete odoures, as the quene of Saba gaue to kynge Salomon. The nauye also of the * 1.2 shyppes of Hiram (that caryed golde from Ophir) brought lykewyse great plentye of ☞ Almuge tre and precyous stones. And the kynge made of the Almuge trees, pyllers for the house of the Lorde, and for the kynges pa¦lace, and made harpes and psaltryes for syn∣gers. There came no more suche Almuge trees, nor were any more sene vnto this day. And kyng Salomon gaue vnto the quene of Saba accordynge to all her desyre what soe∣uer she asked: Besydes that he gaue her of a free wyll with his owne hande. And so she re∣turned vnto her owne countrey: both she, and her seruauntes.

The weyght of golde that came to Sa∣lomon [unspec C] in one yere, was syxe hūdred thre score & syxe talentes of golde, besydes that he had of chapmen and of merchauntes and of Po∣ticaries, and of all the kynges of Arabie, and of the lordes of the countrey. And kyng Sa∣lomon made two hundred buckelers of bea∣ten golde, syxe hundred sycles of golde went to a buckeler. And he made .iii. hundred shel∣des of beten golde, thre poūde of golde went to one shelde, and the kynge put them in the * 1.3 house of the wood of Libanon.

And the kynge made a great seate of yue∣rye, and couered it with the best golde. And the seate had syxe steppes. And the toppe of

the seate was roūde behynde, and there were pomels on eyther syde on the place of the seat and two lyons stode besyde the pomels. And there stode. xii. Lyons on the steppes. vi. on a syde. There was none like (worke) sene in any kyngdome. * 1.4 And al kyng Salomons dryn∣kyng vessels were of golde, & lykewyse al the vessels of the house of the wood of Libanon were of pure golde. And as for syluer, it was nothynge worth in the dayes of Salomon.

For the kynges nauye of shyppes went on the see ☞ vnto Tharsis with the nauye of Hirams shyppes: euen once in thre yere went the nauye to Tharsis, and brought Golde & syluer ☞ Elephantes tethe, apes & pecockes.

* 1.5 And so kynge Salomon exceded all the kynges of the earth bothe in rychesse & wys∣dome. [unspec D] And al the worlde resorted to Salomon to here his wysdome, whiche God had put in his herte. And brought hym euery man his present, vessels of syluer and vessels of golde rayment, harnesse, and swete odours, & hor∣ses and Mules, yere by yere. And Salomon gathered togyther charettes and horsemen: & he had a thousande &. iiii. hundred charettes, and twelue thousande horse men, whome he bestowed in the charet cities, & with the kyng at Ierusalem. * 1.6 And the kynge made syluer in Ierusalem as plenteous as stones, & Ce∣dar as plenteous as the wylde fyg trees that growe aboundauntly in the feldes.

☞ The bryngynge of horses also out of Egypte: and the collectyon of the wares, dyd the kynges marchauntes take agayne, and solde the stuffe for a pryce. A charet came vp out of Egypt for. vi. hundred sycles of syluer: that is ☞ one horse for an hundred & fyftye. And euen so for all the kynges of the Hethi∣tes, and for the kynges of Siria, dyd they bryng them out, thorowe theyr handes.

Notes

• * 1.1

  〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••ii d 〈◊〉〈◊〉 i••. ••
• * 1.2

  3. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••
• * 1.3

  iii. Reg. 7. ••
• * 1.4

  Deut. 17. b
• * 1.5

  ••••. Pat. ix. f
• * 1.6

  11. Pat. ••. d.