Add parallel Print Page Options

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents[a] of gold, 15 in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. 16 King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels[b] of gold went to one buckler. 17 he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas[c] of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom. 21 All king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules. 26 Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he kept in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. 29 A chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels[d] of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites, and to the kings of Syria.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 10:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons
  2. 10:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels is about 6 kilograms or 13.2 pounds or 192 Troy ounces.
  3. 10:17 A mina is about 600 grams or 1.3 U. S. pounds.
  4. 10:29 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.

Solomon’s wealth

14 Solomon received an annual income of six hundred sixty-six kikkars of gold, 15 not including income from the traders, the merchants and their profits, all the Arabian kings, and the officials of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred body-sized shields of hammered gold, using fifteen pounds[a] of gold in each shield, 17 and three hundred small shields of hammered gold, using sixty ounces[b] of gold in each shield. The king placed these in the Forest of Lebanon Palace.

18 The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with pure gold. 19 Six steps led up to the throne, and the back of the throne was rounded at the top. Two lions stood beside the armrests on both sides of the throne. 20 Another twelve lions stood on both sides of the six steps. No other kingdom had anything like this. 21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were made of gold, and all the items in the Forest of Lebanon Palace were made of pure gold, not silver, since even silver wasn’t considered good enough in Solomon’s time! 22 The royal fleet of Tarshish-style ships was at sea with Hiram’s fleet, returning once every three years with gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.[c]

23 King Solomon far exceeded all the earth’s kings in wealth and wisdom, 24 and so the whole earth wanted an audience with Solomon in order to hear his God-given wisdom. 25 Year after year they came with tribute: objects of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

26 Solomon acquired more and more chariots and horses until he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses that he kept in chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 In Jerusalem, the king made silver as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore trees that grow in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue, purchased from Kue by the king’s agents at the going price. 29 They would import a chariot from Egypt for six hundred pieces of silver and a horse for one hundred fifty, and then export them to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:16 Or six hundred (shekels)
  2. 1 Kings 10:17 three manehs
  3. 1 Kings 10:22 Heb uncertain

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.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches(H) and wisdom(I) than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom(J) God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(K)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;(L) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[e] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common(M) in Jerusalem as stones,(N) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig(O) trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[f]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[g] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites(P) and of the Arameans.

Read full chapter

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
  5. 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
  6. 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
  7. 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms