2 Chronicles 9:13-28
New English Translation
Solomon’s Wealth
13 Solomon received 666 talents[a] of gold per year,[b] 14 besides what he collected from the merchants[c] and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures[d] of hammered gold were used for each shield. 16 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures[e] of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.[f]
17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne.[g] The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side.[h] 19 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.[i]
20 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.[j] 21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships[k] manned by Huram’s men[l] that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet[m] came into port with cargoes of[n] gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[o]
22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.[p] 23 All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.[q] 24 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.[r]
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses[s] and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and also with him in Jerusalem.[t] 26 He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[u] to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as plentiful[v] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[w] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[x] 28 Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (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, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
- 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:14 tn Heb “traveling men.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:15 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 sn 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. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:19 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:20 tn Heb “there was no silver regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “servants.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:22 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:23 tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:24 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:25 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:25 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn Heb “he made cedar.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
2 Chronicles 9:13-28
Expanded Bible
Solomon’s Wealth(A)
13 Every year King Solomon received ·about fifty thousand pounds [L 666 talents] of gold. 14 Besides that, he also received gold from traders and merchants. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each of which contained ·about seven and one-half pounds [L six hundred shekels] of hammered gold. 16 He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each of which contained ·about four pounds [L three hundred shekels] of gold. The king put them in the ·Palace [L house] of the Forest of Lebanon [1 Kin. 7:2; 10:17, 21].
17 The king built a large throne of ivory and ·covered [overlaid] it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps on it and an attached gold footstool. There were armrests on both sides of the ·chair [seat], and each armrest had a lion beside it. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All of Solomon’s drinking cups, as well as the ·dishes [vessels; utensils] in the ·Palace [L house] of the Forest of Lebanon, were made of pure gold. In Solomon’s time ·people did not think silver was valuable [silver was considered worthless].
21 King Solomon had many ships that ·he sent out to trade [L went to Tarshish; C in present-day Spain, hence a large, seagoing trading ship], with ·Hiram’s [or Huram’s; 2:3] men as the crews. Every three years the ships returned, bringing back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and ·baboons [or peacocks].
22 King Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. 23 All the kings of the earth ·wanted to see [sought audience with; came to consult] Solomon and listen to the wisdom God had given him. 24 Year after year everyone who came brought gifts of silver and gold, ·clothes [robes], weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and he had twelve thousand ·horses [or horsemen; cavalry]. He kept some in ·special cities for the chariots [chariot cities], and others he kept with him in Jerusalem. 26 Solomon ·ruled [reigned] over all the ·kingdoms [L kings] from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt [1 Kin. 4:20–21]. 27 In Jerusalem the king made silver as common as stones and cedar trees as plentiful as the ·fig [sycamore-fig] trees ·on the western hills [L in the Shephelah]. 28 Solomon imported horses from Egypt and all other countries.
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