¹⁶ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses^(A) for himself^(B) or make the people return to Egypt^(C) to get more of them,^(D) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”^{(E) 17} He must not take many wives,^(F) or his heart will be led astray.^(G) He must not accumulate^(H) large amounts of silver and gold.^(I)

Solomon’s Splendor^(A)

¹⁴ The weight of the gold^(B) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,^{[a] 15} not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred large shields^(C) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels^[b] of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷ He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas^[c] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.^(D)

¹⁸ Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²¹ All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.^(E) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. ²² The king had a fleet of trading ships^[d](F) at sea along with the ships^(G) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²³ King Solomon was greater in riches^(H) and wisdom^(I) than all the other kings of the earth. ²⁴ The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom^(J) God had put in his heart. ²⁵ Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift^(K)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁶ Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;^(L) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,^[e] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common^(M) in Jerusalem as stones,^(N) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig^(O) trees in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue^[f]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. ²⁹ They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.^[g] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites^(P) and of the Arameans.

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women^(A) besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites,^(B) Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry^(C) with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,^(D) and his wives led him astray.^{(E) 4} As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,^(F) and his heart was not fully devoted^(G) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ He followed Ashtoreth^(H) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek^(I) the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did evil^(J) in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

⁷ On a hill east^(K) of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh^(L) the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek^(M) the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared^(N) to him twice. ¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,^(O) Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.^(P)