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Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

14 (A)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the [a]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the (B)Arabs and the governors of the country. 16 (C)And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, [b]using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made (D)300 shields of beaten gold, [c]using [d]three minas of gold on each shield, and (E)the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of (F)ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and [e]arms [f]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [g]arms. 20 Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. 21 Now 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 was of silver; it was not considered [h]valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For (G)the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

23 (H)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, (I)to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 (J)And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.

26 (K)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and [i]stationed them in the (L)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 (M)The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [j]Shephelah. 28 (N)Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 10:15 Or traffic
  2. 1 Kings 10:16 Lit he brought up
  3. 1 Kings 10:17 Lit he brought up
  4. 1 Kings 10:17 Approx. 3.8 lb. or 1.7 kg, a mina was approx. 1.25 lb. or 0.6 kg
  5. 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
  6. 1 Kings 10:19 Lit on this side and on this at the place of the seat
  7. 1 Kings 10:19 Lit hands
  8. 1 Kings 10:21 Lit anything
  9. 1 Kings 10:26 As in ancient versions; Heb led
  10. 1 Kings 10:27 Or lowland