¹⁴ The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, ¹⁵ apart from that of the men of the traders and the profits of the traders, and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the land. ¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred shields of hammered gold; six hundred measures of gold went up over each shield. ¹⁷ Also he made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went up over each of the small shields; and the king put them into the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ The king also made a large ivory throne, and he overlaid it with fine gold. ¹⁹ Six steps led up to the throne, and there was a circular top to the throne behind it, and armrests were on each side of the seat,^[a] with two lions standing beside the armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions were standing there, six on each of the six steps on either side;^[b] nothing like this was made for any of the kingdoms. ²¹ All of the drinking vessels of King Solomon were gold, and all the vessels for the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver; it was not considered as something valuable in the days of Solomon. ²² For the fleet of Tarshish belonged to the king and was on the sea with the fleet of Hiram; once every three years the fleet of Tarshish used to come carrying gold and silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.

²³ King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom. ²⁴ All of the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ They were each bringing his gift; objects of silver and objects of gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This used to happen year after year.^[c]

²⁶ Solomon gathered chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed them in the cities of the chariots and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made the silver in Jerusalem as the stones, and the cedars he made as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah in abundance. ²⁸ The import of the horses which were Solomon’s was from Egypt and from Kue; the traders of the king received horses from Kue at a price. ²⁹ A chariot went up and went out from Egypt at six hundred silver shekels and a horse at a hundred and fifty. So it was for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram; by their hand they were exported.