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1 Kings 10:14-29
World English Bible

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents[a] of gold, 15 in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. 16 King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels[b] of gold went to one buckler. 17 he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas[c] of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was 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, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules. 26 Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he kept in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. 29 A chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels[d] of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites, and to the kings of Syria.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons
  2. 10:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels is about 6 kilograms or 13.2 pounds or 192 Troy ounces.
  3. 10:17 A mina is about 600 grams or 1.3 U. S. pounds.
  4. 10:29 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
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1 Kings 10:14-29
New English Translation

Solomon’s Wealth

14 Solomon received 666 talents[a] of gold per year,[b] 15 besides what he collected from the merchants,[c] traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[d] of gold were used for each shield. 17 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; three minas[e] of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[f]

18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[g] 20 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.[h]

21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.[i] 22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships[j] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[k] came into port with cargoes of[l] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[m]

23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[n] 24 Everyone[o] in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[p] 25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[q]

26 Solomon accumulated[r] chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.[s] 27 The king made silver as plentiful[t] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[u] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[v] 28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt[w] and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.[x]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:14 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 50,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “twenty-five tons”; TEV “almost 23,000 kilogrammes.”
  2. 1 Kings 10:14 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
  3. 1 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “from the traveling men.”
  4. 1 Kings 10:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “six hundred,” with no unit of measure given.
  5. 1 Kings 10:17 sn Three minas. The mina was a unit of measure for weight.
  6. 1 Kings 10:17 sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
  7. 1 Kings 10:19 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
  8. 1 Kings 10:20 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for all the kingdoms.”
  9. 1 Kings 10:21 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
  10. 1 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
  11. 1 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
  12. 1 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “came carrying.”
  13. 1 Kings 10:22 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest “baboons.”
  14. 1 Kings 10:23 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”
  15. 1 Kings 10:24 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “all the kings of the earth.” See 2 Chr 9:23.
  16. 1 Kings 10:24 tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
  17. 1 Kings 10:25 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
  18. 1 Kings 10:26 tn Or “gathered.”
  19. 1 Kings 10:26 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
  20. 1 Kings 10:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are added for clarification.
  21. 1 Kings 10:27 tn Heb “he made.”
  22. 1 Kings 10:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  23. 1 Kings 10:28 sn From Egypt. Because Que is also mentioned, some prefer to see in vv. 28-29 a reference to Mutsur. Que and Mutsur were located in Cilicia/Cappadocia (in modern southern Turkey). See HALOT 625 s.v. מִצְרַיִם.
  24. 1 Kings 10:29 tn Heb “and a chariot went up and came out of Egypt for six hundred silver [pieces], and a horse for one hundred fifty, and in the same way to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand they brought out.”
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