Solomon’s Wealth

¹³ The weight of gold that came to Solomon^(A) annually was 25 tons,^{[a] 14} besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

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

¹⁷ The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps; there was a footstool covered in gold for the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. ¹⁹ Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

²⁰ All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, ²¹ for the king’s ships kept going to Tarshish^(C) with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[d]

²² King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.^{(D) 23} All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. ²⁴ Each of them would bring his own gift—items^[e] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,^[f][g] spices, and horses and mules—as an annual tribute.

²⁵ Solomon^(E) had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.^(F) He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.^{(G) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. ²⁸ They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.