1And Solomon left that place, and he met a noble of the nobles of Egypt, whom King Pharaoh had sent unto him with a gift; and there was an abundance of treasures with him, and he came and made obeisance to the King.
2And Solomon the King made haste to question him, even before he had presented his gift and embassy, and said unto him, "Hast thou seen men of Ethiopia fleeing by this road?"
3And the ambassador of Pharaoh answered and said unto the King, "O King, live for ever!
4My lord, King Pharaoh, sent me unto thee from Alexandria.
5And behold, I will inform thee how I have come.
6Having set out from Alexandria I came to Kahera (Cairo), the city of the King, and on my arrival these men of Ethiopia of whom thou speakest arrived there also.
7They reached there after a passage of three days on the Takkazi, the river of Egypt, and they were blowing flutes, and they travelled on wagons like the host of the heavenly beings.
8And those who saw them said concerning them, `These, having once been creatures of earth, have become beings of heaven.'
9Who then is wiser than Solomon the King of Judah?
10But he never travelled in this wise in a wagon of the winds.
11And those who were in the cities and towns were witnesses that, when these men came into the land of Egypt, our gods and the gods of the King fell down, and were dashed in pieces, and the towers of the idols were likewise broken into fragments.
12And they asked the priests of the gods, the diviners of Egypt, the reason why our gods had fallen down, and they said unto us, `The Tabernacle of the God of Israel, which came down from heaven, is with them, and will abide in their country for ever.'
13And it was because of this that, when they came into the land of Egypt, our gods were broken into fragments.
14And thou, O King, whose wisdom hath no counterpart under the heavens, why hast thou given away the Tabernacle of the Law of the Lord thy God, which thy fathers kept pure for thee?
15For, according to what we hear, that Tabernacle used to deliver you out of the hand of your enemies, and the spirit of prophecy, which was therein, used to hold converse with you, and the God of heaven used to dwell in it in His Holy Spirit, and ye are called men of the house of God.
16Why have ye given your glory to another?"
17And Solomon answered in wisdom and said, "How was he (i.e. David) able to carry away our Lady, for she is with us?"