# 2 Chronicles 9

## 2 Chronicles 9:1

### She came with a very long caravan

"a very large group of servants" or "a very long line of servants"

### all that was in her heart

This is a generalization. Alternate translation: "everything she wanted to know" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-hyperbole]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:2

### there was no question that he did not answer

This can be stated positively. Alternate translation: "he answered every question" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-doublenegatives]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:3

### When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon's wisdom and the palace that he had built

Here "saw Solomon's wisdom" represents realizing that Solomon was very wise. Alternate translation: "When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace that he had built" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])

### the palace that he had built

The author writes about Solomon having his workers build his palace as if he himself had built it. Alternate translation: "the palace that Solomon had his workers build" or "the palace that he had commanded his workers to build" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:4

### the seating of his servants

Possible meanings are 1) where his servants lived or 2) how his servants sat around the table.

### his cupbearers

"his wine servers." These were servants who tasted the king's wine to make sure that there was no poison in it. If it was safe to drink the wine, they would give it to the king.

### there was no more breath in her

This is an idiom. Alternate translation: "she was completely amazed" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-idiom]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:5

### I heard in my own land

"I heard while I was in my own land"

### your words and your wisdom

Here the word "wisdom" can describe the word "words." Alternate translation: "your wise words" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-hendiadys]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:6

### now my eyes have seen it

The phrase "my eyes" emphasizes that she herself saw it. Alternate translation: "now I have seen it for myself" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-synecdoche]])

### Not half was told me about your wisdom and wealth

This can be stated it active form. Alternate translation: "They did not tell me about even half of your wisdom and wealth" or "You are much more wise and wealthy than what they told me" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-activepassive]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:7

### How blessed are your men

This is an exclamation that shows her amazement. Alternate translation: "Your people are greatly blessed" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-exclamations]])

### how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you

This is an exclamation that shows her amazement. Alternate translation: "your servants who constantly stand before you are greatly blessed" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-exclamations]])

### they hear your wisdom

Hear "wisdom" represents the wise things that he says. Alternate translation: "they hear the wise things that you say" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:8

### who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on his throne

These phrases tell why people should praise Yahweh. Alternate translation: "because he has taken pleasure in you and placed you on his throne" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-distinguish]])

### who has taken pleasure in you

"who is pleased with you"

### who placed you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God

The idea of being on Yahweh's throne represents having the authority to rule as Yahweh does. Being king "for Yahweh" means to represent Yahweh as king. Alternate translation: "who gave you authority to rule as he does, to represent Yahweh your God as king" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### in order to establish them forever

Possible meanings are 1) "establish" represents helping them in general. Alternate translation: "in order to help them forever" or 2) "establish" represents making them strong as a nation. Alternate translation: "in order to make them a nation forever" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])

### for you to do justice and righteousness

The abstract nouns "justice" and "righteousness" can be expressed with the words "fairly" and "righteously." Alternate translation: "for you to rule fairly and righteously" or "for you to do what is just and right" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-abstractnouns]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:9

### 120 talents

"one hundred and twenty talents." A talent is a unit of weight equal to about 33 kilograms. You may convert this to a modern measure. Alternate translation: "about four thousand kilograms of gold" or "about four metric tons of gold" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-numbers]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-bweight]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:10

### Hiram

Hiram was the king of Tyre. See how you translated his name in [2 Chronicles 2:11](../02/11.md). Alternate translation: "Hiram, the king of Tyre" or "King Hiram" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names]])

### Ophir

This is the name of a place. Its location is not known. See how you translated this in [2 Chronicles 8:18](../08/18.md). (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names]])

### algum wood

Algum is a kind of tree that grows in Lebanon. King Hiram sent this kind of wood to Solomon. See how you translated it in [2 Chronicles 2:8](../02/08.md).

## 2 Chronicles 9:11

### the king made steps ... well as harps and lutes

The author speaks of the king having his workers make these things as if he himself had made them. Alternate translation: "the king had his workers make the steps .. as well as harps and lyres" or "the king's workers made steps ... well as harps and lyres" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### No wood like this had been seen before in the land of Judah

This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "No one had seen wood like this before in the land of Judah" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-activepassive]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:12

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## 2 Chronicles 9:13

### in one year

These words could refer to 1) each year or 2) a particular year.

### 666 talents of gold

A talent is a unit of weight equal to about 33 kilograms. You may convert this to a modern measure. Alternate translation: "about twenty-two thousand kilograms of gold" or "about twenty-two metric tons of gold" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-bweight]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-numbers]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:14

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## 2 Chronicles 9:15

### King Solomon made

The author writes about Solomon having his workers make the shields as if he himself had made them. Alternate translation: "King Solomon had his workers make" or "King Solomon's workers made" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### two hundred large shields

"200 large shields" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-numbers]])

### beaten gold

"gold that people had beaten into thin sheets"

### Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one

Here the phrase "went into" represents being made with. Possible meanings are 1) the shields were covered with sheets of gold. Alternate translation: "They covered each shield with six hundred shekels of gold" or 2) the shields were made of gold. Alternate translation: "They made each shield out of six hundred shekels of gold"

### Six hundred shekels of gold

A shekel is a unit of weight equal to about 11 grams. You may convert this to a modern measure. Alternate translation: "Six and one half kilograms of gold" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-bweight]])

### Six hundred shekels

The word "shekels" does not appear here in the Hebrew text. Some modern versions assume instead the unit called bekah, which was equivalent to only a half shekel. Any version making this assumption would signal a metric equivalent of about three kilograms.

## 2 Chronicles 9:16

### He also made

The author writes about Solomon having his workers make the shields as if he himself had made them. Alternate translation: "King Solomon had his workers also make" or "His workers also made"(See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### three hundred shields

"300 shields" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-numbers]])

### Three minas of gold went into each shield

Here the phrase "went into" represents being made with. Possible meanings are 1) the shields were covered with sheets of gold. Alternate translation: "They covered each shield with three minas of gold" or 2) the shields were made of gold. Alternate translation: "They made each shield out of three minas of gold"

### Three minas of gold

A mina is about 600 grams. You may convert this to a modern measure. Alternate translation: "One and three-quarters kilograms of gold" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-bweight]])

### the king put them

The author writes about Solomon having his workers put the shields in the palace as if he himself had put them there. Alternate translation: "King Solomon had his workers put them" or "King Solomon's workers put them" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### the House of the Forest of Lebanon

Solomon's palace was built of trees from Lebanon. Possible meanings are 1) this was the name of a large room in the palace. Alternate translation: "the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon" or 2) this was the name of his whole palace. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:17

### the king made a great throne

The author speaks of commanding his workers to build the throne as if he himself had built it. Alternate translation: "the king had his workers make a great throne" or "the king's workers made" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### a great throne of ivory

"a great throne decorated with ivory"

### ivory

Ivory is the hard, white substance from the tusks or teeth of large animals, such as the elephant, walrus, or hippopotamus. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-unknown]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:18

### two lions

These were statues. Alternate translation: "two statues of lions" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:19

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## 2 Chronicles 9:20

### the House of the Forest of Lebanon

Solomon's palace was built of trees from Lebanon. See how you translated this in [2 Chronicles 9:16](../09/16.md). Possible meanings are 1) this was the name of a large room in the palace. Alternate translation: "the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon" or 2) this was the name of his whole palace. Alternate translation: "the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names]])

### silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days

Silver was so common in Solomon's days that if a king wanted to show his wealth, he would not do it by making things out of silver. Instead he would use gold, which was less common and more valuable. This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "people did not value silver so much" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-activepassive]])

### in Solomon's days

Here "Solomon's days" refers to the time when Solomon ruled. Alternate translation: "when Solomon ruled" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:21

### a fleet of oceangoing ships

"a group of ships that travel on the ocean"

### along with the fleet of Hiram

"along with Hiram's fleet of ships"

### apes and baboons

It is not certain whether the word translated as "apes" here refers to apes, baboons, or monkeys. It is not certain whether the word translated as "baboons" here refers to baboons or peacocks. This can be translated more generally as "animals from far away" or "animals from Africa." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-unknown]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:22

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## 2 Chronicles 9:23

### All the kings of the earth

The word "all" here is a generalization. Alternate translation: "Kings from around the world" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-hyperbole]])

### sought the presence of Solomon

The presence of a person is a metonym for being able to speak and listen to the person. Alternate translation: "wanted to visit Solomon" or "came to visit Solomon" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart

The heart is a metonym for what a person thinks, and here it is spoken of as if it were a container. The abstract noun "wisdom" is a metonym for the wise things a person thinks or says. Alternate translation: "to hear how wise God had enabled him to be" or "to hear him speak the wise words that God had enabled him to speak" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])

### which God had put in his heart

God putting wisdom in Solomon's heart represents God making Solomon wise. Alternate translation: "which God had given him" or "because God had made him wise" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:24

### year after year

This is an idiom. Alternate translation: "every year" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-idiom]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:25

### four thousand stalls ... twelve thousand horsemen

"4,000 stalls ... 12,000 horsemen" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-numbers]])

### stalls

This is a small enclosure where horses are kept.

## 2 Chronicles 9:26

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## 2 Chronicles 9:27

### as much as the stones on the ground

This is an exaggeration to emphasize that there was such a great amount of silver. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-hyperbole]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:28

### They brought horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands

The word "they" may refer to Solomon's merchants. However this sentence is not about what the merchants did, but about where Solomon's horses came from. Alternate translation: "Horses were brought to Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands" or "Solomon's horses were from Egypt and all the lands"

### from all the lands

The word "all" is a generalization. Alternate translation: "from many other places" or "from many other countries" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-hyperbole]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:29

### first and last

The phrase "first and last" represents the whole time of Solomon's reign. Alternate translation: "from the beginning to the end of his reign" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-merism]])

### are they not written ... (which also had information about Jeroboam son of Nebat)?

The author uses the question to remind the readers that other people had written about Solomon. It can be expressed in active form Alternate translation: "they are written ... (which also had information about Jeroboam son of Nebat.)" or "people have written about them ... (which also had information about Jeroboam son of Nebat)." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion]])

### The History of Nathan the Prophet ... The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite ... The Visions of Iddo the Seer

These are the names of some writings that existed when 2 Chronicles was written, but they do not exist now.

### Ahijah the Shilonite

This is a prophet from Shiloh who predicted that the nation of Israel would be divided into two kingdoms.

### Shilonite

This is the name of a people group from the town of Shiloh. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names]])

## 2 Chronicles 9:30

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## 2 Chronicles 9:31

### He slept with his ancestors

This was a polite way to tell about him dying. Alternate translation: "He died" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-euphemism]])