Solomon’s Wealth

¹⁴ The weight^(A) of gold that came to Solomon annually was 25 tons,^{[a] 15} besides what came from merchants,^(B) traders’ merchandise, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.^(C)

¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds^[b] of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷ He made 300 small shields of hammered gold; about four pounds^[c] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.^(D)

¹⁸ The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with fine gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps; there was a rounded top at the back of the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

²¹ All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon^(E) were pure gold.^(F) There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, ²² for the king had ships of Tarshish^(G) at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[d](H)

²³ King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.^{(I) 24} The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.^{(J) 25} Every man would bring his annual tribute: items^[e] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,^[f] spices, and horses and mules.^(K)

²⁶ Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen^(L) and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.^{(M) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones,^(N) and he made cedar^(O) as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue.^[g] The king’s traders bought them from Kue at the going price.^{(P) 29} A chariot was imported from Egypt for 15 pounds^[h] of silver, and a horse for about four pounds.^[i] In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.^(Q)