Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

^14 (A)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that from the traders and the ^[a]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^(B)Arabs and the governors of the country. ^16 (C)And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, ^[b]using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. ¹⁷ And he made ^(D)300 shields of beaten gold, ^[c]using ^[d]three minas of gold on each shield, and ^(E)the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ Moreover, the king made a great throne of ^(F)ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. ¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and ^[e]arms ^[f]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ^[g]arms. ²⁰ Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. ²¹ Now 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 was of silver; it was not considered ^[h]valuable in the days of Solomon. ²² For ^(G)the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

^23 (H)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²⁴ And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ^(I)to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. ^25 (J)And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.

^26 (K)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and ^[i]stationed them in the ^(L)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^27 (M)The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ^[j]Shephelah. ^28 (N)Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. ²⁹ And a chariot ^[k]was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ^[l]by the same means they exported them ^(O)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.