2 Chronicles 9:13-28
New Living Translation
Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor
13 Each year Solomon received about 25 tons[a] of gold. 14 This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds.[b] 16 He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1⁄2 pounds.[c] The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. 19 There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!
20 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!
21 The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish manned by the sailors sent by Hiram.[d] Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[e]
22 So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. 23 Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. 24 Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses.[f] He stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River[g] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. 27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.[h] 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt[i] and many other countries.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 9:13 Hebrew 666 talents [23 metric tons].
- 9:15 Hebrew 600 [shekels] of hammered gold [6.8 kilograms].
- 9:16 Hebrew 300 [shekels] of gold [3.4 kilograms].
- 9:21a Hebrew Huram, a variant spelling of Hiram.
- 9:21b Or and baboons.
- 9:25 Or 12,000 charioteers.
- 9:26 Hebrew the river.
- 9:27 Hebrew the Shephelah.
- 9:28 Possibly Muzur, a district near Cilicia.
2 Chronicles 9:13-28
Christian Standard Bible
Solomon’s Wealth
13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon(A) annually was twenty-five tons,[a] 14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds[b] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 7½ pounds[c] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(B)
17 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps; there was a footstool covered in gold for the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
20 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 21 for the king’s ships kept going to Tarshish(C) with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[d]
22 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.(D) 23 All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Each of them would bring his own gift—items[e] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,[f][g] spices, and horses and mules—as an annual tribute.
25 Solomon(E) had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.(F) He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.(G) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. 28 They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.
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