The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

“Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided.

whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.

The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits long across the width of the building and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs.

He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim.

He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.

He built the Most Holy Place, its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.

The gold nails weighed fifty shekels. He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

For the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold.

He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.

Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;

the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind.

Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

(The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones.

Solomon’s Splendor

The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,

not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.

He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.