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.
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- 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
New American Standard Bible
Solomon’s Wealth and Power
13 (A)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was [a]666 talents of gold, 14 besides what the traders and merchants brought; and all (B)the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, [b]using six hundred shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 He made three hundred shields of beaten gold, [c]using three hundred shekels of gold on each shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and [d]arms [e]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [f]arms. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 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; silver was not considered [g]valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 (C)For the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 (D)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 24 (E)They were bringing, each of them his gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
25 Now Solomon had (F)four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 (G)He was ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt. 27 (H)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [h]lowland. 28 (I)And they were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 9:13 About 25 tons or 23 metric tons
- 2 Chronicles 9:15 Lit he brought up
- 2 Chronicles 9:16 Lit he brought up
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit from this and from this at the place of the seat
- 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
- 2 Chronicles 9:20 Lit anything
- 2 Chronicles 9:27 Heb shephelah
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