She gave the king: In languages that do not distinguish masculine and feminine pronouns, the names of the participants in this verse may have to be given instead of using only the pronoun she and the title king. It should be clear that it is the queen of Sheba who gives gifts to King Solomon. The text speaks of what Solomon gave to the queen in return in verse 13.

A hundred and twenty talents of gold is the same amount that King Hiram had paid for the cities in Galilee (1 Kgs 9.14). The equivalent for a hundred and twenty talents is “almost five tons” (Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation) or “about 9,000 pounds” (International Children’s Bible). In terms of the metric system, this would be between 4,000 and 5,000 kilograms.

Regarding spices and precious stones, see the comments on verse 2.

Never again came such an abundance of spices …: The last part of this verse has been interpreted in at least three different ways:
(1) Such a large amount of spices were never brought again in the future at any time (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, and most translations). Compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh: “Never again did such a vast quantity of spices arrive as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
(2) Good News Translation understands this to mean that Solomon never again received such a quantity of spices during the time that he reigned, but this may be limiting the time more than the author intended.
(3) Contemporary English Version treats this as a statement about events prior to the time of Solomon by saying “more spices than anyone had ever brought into Israel.”

Of these three ways of interpreting the Hebrew, the first is preferable. It does not make the translation more explicit than the Hebrew is; and more importantly, it agrees with verse 12, which says that almug wood was never imported into the country again.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .