Solomon’s Splendor(A)

14 The weight of the gold(B) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[a] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields(C) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[b] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[c] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(D)

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.(E) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[d](F) at sea along with the ships(G) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  2. 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
  3. 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
  4. 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish

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