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2 Chronicles 9:13-28
New English Translation

Solomon’s Wealth

13 Solomon received 666 talents[a] of gold per year,[b] 14 besides what he collected from the merchants[c] and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[d] of hammered gold were used for each shield. 16 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures[e] of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[f]

17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne.[g] The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[h] 19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.[i]

20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.[j] 21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships[k] manned by Huram’s men[l] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[m] came into port with cargoes of[n] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[o]

22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[p] 23 All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[q] 24 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[r]

25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses[s] and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and also with him in Jerusalem.[t] 26 He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[u] to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as plentiful[v] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[w] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[x] 28 Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
  2. 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 9:14 tn Heb “traveling men.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 9:15 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
  5. 2 Chronicles 9:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
  6. 2 Chronicles 9:16 sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:18 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:18 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:19 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:20 tn Heb “there was no silver regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “servants.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
  14. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 9:22 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 9:23 tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 9:24 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 9:25 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 9:25 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 9:26 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
  23. 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn Heb “he made cedar.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 9:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
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2 Chronicles 9:13-28
World English Bible

13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents[a] of gold, 14 in addition to that which the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels[b] of beaten gold went to one buckler. 16 He made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three hundred shekels[c] of gold went to one shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. There was nothing like it made in any other kingdom. 20 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. Silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Once every three years, the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

22 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 They each brought tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules every year. 25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he stationed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as abundant as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt and out of all lands.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:13 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons
  2. 9:15 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels was about 6 kilograms or about 192 Troy ounces.
  3. 9:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 300 shekels was about 3 kilograms or about 96 Troy ounces.
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