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Visit of the Queen of Sheba

10When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to^* the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions. ²She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ³Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. ⁴When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt-offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

6 So she said to the king, ‘The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, ⁷but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard. ⁸Happy are your wives!^* Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom! ⁹Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.’ ¹⁰Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

3  Trust in the Lord and be doing good; ♦︎
   dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.
4  Let your delight be in the Lord ♦︎
   and he will give you your heart’s desire.
5  Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, ♦︎
   and he will bring it to pass.
6  He will make your righteousness as clear as the light ♦︎
   and your just dealing as the noonday.
30  The righteous shall possess the land ♦︎
   and dwell in it for ever.
31  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, ♦︎
   and their tongue speaks the thing that is right.
32  The law of their God is in their heart ♦︎
   and their footsteps shall not slide.

14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’^*

17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, ¹⁹since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. ²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’