¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each large shield.^{(A) 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.^{(B) 18} The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold.^{(C) 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.

The Essence of the Law

¹² “So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,^{(A) 13} and to keep the commandments of the Lord and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. ¹⁴ Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it,^{(B) 15} yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today.^{(C) 16} Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.^{(D) 17} For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe,^{(E) 18} who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.^{(F) 19} You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.^{(G) 20} You shall fear the Lord your God; him you shall serve; to him you shall hold fast; and by his name you shall swear.^{(H) 21} He is your praise; he is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen.^{(I) 22} Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.^(J)