1 Kings 10:14-29
World English Bible
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 chapterFootnotes
- 10:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons
- 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.
- 10:17 A mina is about 600 grams or 1.3 U. S. pounds.
- 10:29 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
1 Kings 10:14-29
International Standard Version
Solomon’s Wealth(A)
14 Solomon’s annual revenue was 666 talents[a] of gold, 15 not including revenue from traders, merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, overlaying each large shield with the gold from 600 gold pieces,[b] 17 and 300 shields from beaten gold, overlaying each shield with the gold from 300 gold pieces.[c] The king put them in his palace in the Lebanon forest. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 Six steps led up to the throne, which had a round canopy fastened to the rear of the throne and armrests on each side of the seat and two lions standing on either side of each armrest. 20 Twelve lions were placed on both sides of the six steps leading to the throne,[d] and nothing comparable was made for any other[e] kingdoms. 21 All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were made of[f] gold, and all the vessels in his palace in the Lebanon forest were made of[g] pure gold. None were of silver, because silver was never considered to be valuable during Solomon’s lifetime, 22 because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram’s ships. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 As a result, King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in regards to wealth and wisdom. 24 All the earth continued to seek audiences with Solomon so they could hear the wise things that God had put in his heart. 25 Everyone kept on bringing gifts on an annual basis, including items made of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules. 26 Solomon accumulated chariots and cavalry. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 cavalry soldiers. He stationed them in various chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common as[h] stones in Jerusalem, and made cedar trees as abundant as sycamore[i] trees in the Shephelah.[j] 28 Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s buyers procured them at market price from Kue. 29 A chariot from Egypt cost 600 pieces[k] of silver, and a horse 150 pieces of silver,[l] but then they were exported to all the Hittite kings and to the Aramean kings.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 10:14 I.e. about 49,950 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Kings 10:16 MT does not identify the individual unit of measure
- 1 Kings 10:17 MT does not identify the individual unit of measure
- 1 Kings 10:20 The Heb. lacks leading to the throne
- 1 Kings 10:20 The Heb. lacks other
- 1 Kings 10:21 The Heb. lacks made of
- 1 Kings 10:21 The Heb. lacks made of
- 1 Kings 10:27 The Heb. lacks as common as
- 1 Kings 10:27 The sycamore fruit tree native to Israel bears figs
- 1 Kings 10:27 I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- 1 Kings 10:29 The denomination of silver coin is not specified.
- 1 Kings 10:29 The Heb. lacks pieces of silver
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