Solomon’s kingdom

20 There were as many people in Judah and Israel as there are grains of sand [HYP] on the seashore. They had plenty to eat and drink and they were happy. 21 Solomon’s kingdom extended from the Euphrates River in the northeast to the Philistia area in the west and to the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered people in those areas paid taxes and were under Solomon’s control for the rest of his life.

22 To feed the people in his palace and his guests Solomon needed people to bring to him every day 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of wheat, 23 ten cattle that were kept in stalls/barns, 20 cattle that were kept in pastures, 100 sheep, and ◄deer and gazelles and roebucks/three kinds of deer►, and poultry. 24 Solomon ruled over all the area west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah city in the northeast to Gaza city in the southwest. He ruled over all the kings in that area. And there was peace between his government and the governments of nearby countries. 25 All during the years that Solomon ruled, the people of Judah and Israel lived safely. Each family had its own grapevines and fig trees.

26 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for the horses that pulled his chariots and 12,000 men who rode on horses (OR, in the chariots).

27 His twelve governors supplied the food that King Solomon needed for himself and for all those who ate in the palace. Each governor supplied food for one month each year. They provided everything [LIT] that Solomon required. 28 They also brought stalks of barley and wheat for the fast horses that pulled the chariots and for the other work horses. They brought it to the places where the horses were kept.