¹⁴ The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,^{(A) 15} besides that which came from the traders and from the business of the merchants and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land. ¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each large shield.^{(B) 17} He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.^{(C) 18} The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold.^{(D) 19} The throne had six steps. The top of the throne was rounded in the back, and on each side of the seat were arm rests and two lions standing beside the arm rests, ²⁰ while twelve lions were standing, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever 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—it was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²² For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[a](E)

²³ Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.^{(F) 24} The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.^{(G) 25} Every one of them brought a present, objects of silver and gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

²⁶ Solomon gathered together chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.^{(H) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamores of the Shephelah. ²⁸ Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price.^{(I) 29} A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for one hundred fifty, so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.^(J)