101 And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, and cometh to try him with enigmas, 2 and she cometh to Jerusalem, with a very great company, camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stone, and she cometh unto Solomon, and speaketh unto him all that hath been with her heart. 3 And Solomon declareth to her all her matters—there hath not been a thing hid from the king that he hath not declared to her. 4 And the queen of Sheba seeth all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he built, 5 and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his butlers, and his burnt-offering that he causeth to ascend in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been in her any more spirit. 6 And she saith unto the king, 'True hath been the word that I heard in my land, concerning thy matters and thy wisdom; 7 and I gave no credence to the words till that I have come, and my eyes see, and lo, it was not declared to me—the half; thou hast added wisdom and goodness unto the report that I heard. 8 O the happiness of thy men, O the happiness of thy servants—these—who are standing before thee continually, who are hearing thy wisdom! 9 Jehovah thy God is blessed who delighted in thee, to put thee on the throne of Israel; in Jehovah's loving Israel to the age He doth set thee for king, to do judgment and righteousness. 10 And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices very many, and precious stone; there came not like that spice any more for abundance that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11 And also, the navy of Hiram that bore gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir almug-trees very many, and precious stone; 12 and the king maketh the almug-trees a support for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; there have not come such almug-trees, nor have there been seen 'such' unto this day. 13 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which he gave to her as a memorial of king Solomon, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants.
14 And the weight of the gold that hath come to Solomon in one year is six hundred sixty and six talents of gold, 15 apart from 'that of' the tourists, and of the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the land. 16 And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold—six hundred of gold go up on the one target; 17 and three hundred shields of alloyed gold—three pounds of gold go up on the one shield; and the king putteth them 'in' the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with refined gold; 19 six steps hath the throne, and a round top 'is' to the throne behind it, and hands 'are' on this 'side' and on that, unto the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands, 20 and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps, on this 'side' and on that; it hath not been made so for any kingdom. 21 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon 'are' of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon 'are' of refined gold—there are none of silver; it was not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything, 22 for a navy of Tarshish hath the king at sea with a navy of Hiram; once in three years cometh the navy of Tarshish, bearing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. 23 And king Solomon is greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom, 24 and all the earth is seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom that God hath put into his heart, 25 and they are bringing each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, the matter of a year in a year.
26 And Solomon gathereth chariots, and horsemen, and he hath a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placeth them in the cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as the sycamores that 'are' in the low country, for abundance. 28 And the outgoing of the horses that king Solomon hath 'is' from Egypt, and from Keveh; merchants of the king take from Keveh at a price; 29 and a chariot cometh up and cometh out of Egypt for six hundred silverlings, and a horse for fifty and a hundred, and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Aram; by their hand they bring out.
111 And king Solomon hath loved many strange women, and the daughter of Pharaoh, females of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zidon, 'and' of the Hittites, 2 of the nations of which Jehovah said unto the sons of Israel, 'Ye do not go in to them, and they do not go in to you; surely they turn aside your heart after their gods;' to them hath Solomon cleaved for love. 3 And he hath women, princesses, seven hundred, and concubines three hundred; and his wives turn aside his heart. 4 And it cometh to pass, at the time of the old age of Solomon, his wives have turned aside his heart after other gods, and his heart hath not been perfect with Jehovah his God, like the heart of David his father. 5 And Solomon goeth after Ashtoreth god'dess' of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites; 6 and Solomon doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and hath not been fully after Jehovah, like David his father. 7 Then doth Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that 'is' on the front of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the sons of Ammon; 8 and so he hath done for all his strange women, who are perfuming and sacrificing to their gods.
9 And Jehovah sheweth Himself angry with Solomon, for his heart hath turned aside from Jehovah, God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice, 10 and given a charge unto him concerning this thing, not to go after other gods; and he hath not kept that which Jehovah commanded, 11 and Jehovah saith to Solomon, 'Because that this hath been with thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes that I charged upon thee, I surely rend the kingdom from thee, and have given it to thy servant. 12 'Only, in thy days I do it not, for the sake of David thy father; out of the hand of thy son I rend it; 13 only all the kingdom I do not rend away; one tribe I give to thy son, for the sake of David My servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, that I have chosen.'
14 And Jehovah raiseth up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; of the seed of the king 'is' he in Edom; 15 and it cometh to pass, in David's being with Edom, in the going up of Joab head of the host to bury the slain, that he smiteth every male in Edom— 16 for six months did Joab abide there, and all Israel, till the cutting off of every male in Edom— 17 and Hadad fleeth, he and certain Edomites, of the servants of his father, with him, to go in to Egypt, and Hadad 'is' a little youth, 18 and they rise out of Midian, and come into Paran, and take men with them out of Paran, and come in to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he giveth to him a house, and bread hath commanded for him, and land hath given to him. 19 And Hadad findeth grace in the eyes of Pharaoh exceedingly, and he giveth to him a wife, the sister of his own wife, sister of Tahpenes the mistress; 20 and the sister of Tahpenes beareth to him Genubath his son, and Tahpenes weaneth him within the house of Pharaoh, and Genubath is in the house of Pharaoh in the midst of the sons of Pharaoh. 21 And Hadad hath heard in Egypt that David hath lain with his fathers, and that Joab head of the host is dead, and Hadad saith unto Pharaoh, 'Send me away, and I go unto my land.' 22 And Pharaoh saith to him, 'But, what art thou lacking with me, that lo, thou art seeking to go unto thine own land?' and he saith, 'Nay, but thou dost certainly send me away.' 23 And God raiseth to him an adversary, Rezon son of Eliadah, who hath fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord, 24 and gathereth unto himself men, and is head of a troop in David's slaying them, and they go to Damascus, and dwell in it, and reign in Damascus; 25 and he is an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, (besides the evil that Hadad 'did'), and he cutteth off in Israel, and reigneth over Aram.
26 And Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda—the name of whose mother 'is' Zeruah, a widow woman—servant to Solomon, he also lifteth up a hand against the king; 27 and this 'is' the thing 'for' which he lifted up a hand against the king: Solomon built Millo—he shut up the breach of the city of David his father, 28 and the man Jeroboam 'is' mighty in valour, and Solomon seeth the young man that he is doing business, and appointeth him over all the burden of the house of Joseph. 29 And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Jeroboam hath gone out from Jerusalem, and Ahijah the Shilonite, the prophet, findeth him in the way, and he is covering himself with a new garment; and both of them 'are' by themselves in a field, 30 and Ahijah layeth hold on the new garment that 'is' on him, and rendeth it—twelve pieces, 31 and saith to Jeroboam, 'Take to thee ten pieces, for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, lo, I am rending the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and have given to thee the ten tribes, 32 and the one tribe he hath for My servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have fixed on, out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 'Because they have forsaken Me, and bow themselves to Ashtoreth, god'dess' of the Zidonians, to Chemosh god of Moab, and to Milcom god of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways, to do that which 'is' right in Mine eyes, and My statutes and My judgments, like David his father. 34 'And I do not take the whole of the kingdom out of his hand, for prince I make him all days of his life, for the sake of David My servant whom I chose, who kept My commands and My statutes; 35 and I have taken the kingdom out of the hand of his son, and given it to thee—the ten tribes; 36 and to his son I give one tribe, for there being a lamp to David My servant all the days before Me in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen to Myself to put My name there. 37 'And thee I take, and thou hast reigned over all that thy soul desireth, and thou hast been king over Israel; 38 and it hath been, if thou dost hear all that I command thee, and hast walked in My ways, and done that which is right in Mine eyes, to keep My statutes and My commands, as did David My servant, that I have been with thee, and have built for thee a stedfast house, as I built for David, and have given to thee Israel, 39 and I humble the seed of David for this; only, not all the days.' 40 And Solomon seeketh to put Jeroboam to death, and Jeroboam riseth and fleeth to Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and he is in Egypt till the death of Solomon.
41 And the rest of the matters of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written on the book of the matters of Solomon? 42 And the days that Solomon hath reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel 'are' forty years, 43 and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.
20 'And when ye may see Jerusalem surrounded by encampments, then know that come nigh did her desolation; 21 then those in Judea, let them flee to the mountains; and those in her midst, let them depart out; and those in the countries, let them not come in to her; 22 because these are days of vengeance, to fulfil all things that have been written. 23 'And wo to those with child, and to those giving suck, in those days; for there shall be great distress on the land, and wrath on this people; 24 and they shall fall by the mouth of the sword, and shall be led captive to all the nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by nations, till the times of nations be fulfilled.
25 'And there shall be signs in sun, and moon, and stars, and on the land 'is' distress of nations with perplexity, sea and billow roaring; 26 men fainting at heart from fear, and expectation of the things coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 27 'And then they shall see the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, with power and much glory; 28 and these things beginning to happen bend yourselves back, and lift up your heads, because your redemption doth draw nigh.'
29 And he spake a simile to them: 'See the fig-tree, and all the trees, 30 when they may now cast forth, having seen, of yourselves ye know that now is the summer nigh; 31 so also ye, when ye may see these things happening, ye know that near is the reign of God; 32 verily I say to you—This generation may not pass away till all may have come to pass; 33 the heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words may not pass away. 34 'And take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts may be weighed down with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day may come on you, 35 for as a snare it shall come on all those dwelling on the face of all the land, 36 watch ye, then, in every season, praying that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are about to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.' 37 And he was during the days in the temple teaching, and during the nights, going forth, he was lodging at the mount called of Olives; 38 and all the people were coming early unto him in the temple to hear him.
(Read Luke 21:5-28)
With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the great desolation should be. He answers with clearness and fulness, as far as was necessary to teach them their duty; for all knowledge is desirable as far as it is in order to practice. Though spiritual judgements are the most common in gospel times, yet God makes use of temporal judgments also. Christ tells them what hard things they should suffer for his name's sake, and encourages them to bear up under their trials, and to go on in their work, notwithstanding the opposition they would meet with. God will stand by you, and own you, and assist you. This was remarkably fulfilled after the pouring out of the Spirit, by whom Christ gave his disciples wisdom and utterance. Though we may be losers for Christ, we shall not, we cannot be losers by him, in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especially in perilous, trying times, to secure the safety of our own souls. It is by Christian patience we keep possession of our own souls, and keep out all those impressions which would put us out of temper. We may view the prophecy before us much as those Old Testament prophecies, which, together with their great object, embrace, or glance at some nearer object of importance to the church. Having given an idea of the times for about thirty-eight years next to come, Christ shows what all those things would end in, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter dispersion of the Jewish nation; which would be a type and figure of Christ's second coming. The scattered Jews around us preach the truth of Christianity; and prove, that though heaven and earth shall pass away, the words of Jesus shall not pass away. They also remind us to pray for those times when neither the real, nor the spiritual Jerusalem, shall any longer be trodden down by the Gentiles, and when both Jews and Gentiles shall be turned to the Lord. When Christ came to destroy the Jews, he came to redeem the Christians that were persecuted and oppressed by them; and then had the churches rest. When he comes to judge the world, he will redeem all that are his from their troubles. So fully did the Divine judgements come upon the Jews, that their city is set as an example before us, to show that sins will not pass unpunished; and that the terrors of the Lord, and his threatenings against impenitent sinners, will all come to pass, even as his word was true, and his wrath great upon Jerusalem.
(Read Luke 21:29-38)
Christ tells his disciples to observe the signs of the times, which they might judge by. He charges them to look upon the ruin of the Jewish nation as near. Yet this race and family of Abraham shall not be rooted out; it shall survive as a nation, and be found as prophesied, when the Son of man shall be revealed. He cautions them against being secure and sensual. This command is given to all Christ's disciples, Take heed to yourselves, that ye be not overpowered by temptations, nor betrayed by your own corruptions. We cannot be safe, if we are carnally secure. Our danger is, lest the day of death and of judgment should come upon us when we are not prepared. Lest, when we are called to meet our Lord, that be the furthest from our thoughts, which ought to be nearest our hearts. For so it will come upon the most of men, who dwell upon the earth, and mind earthly things only, and have no converse with heaven. It will be a terror and a destruction to them. Here see what should be our aim, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those things; that when the judgements of God are abroad, we may not be in the common calamity, or it may not be that to us which it is to others. Do you ask how you may be found worthy to stand before Christ at that day? Those who never yet sought Christ, let them now go unto him; those who never yet were humbled for their sins, let them now begin; those who have already begun, let them go forward and be kept humbled. Watch therefore, and pray always. Watch against sin; watch in every duty, and make the most of every opportunity to do good. Pray always: those shall be accounted worthy to live a life of praise in the other world, who live a life of prayer in this world. May we begin, employ, and conclude each day attending to Christ's word, obeying his precepts, and following his example, that whenever he comes we may be found watching.
