Solomon’s wealth

14 Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold. 15 That was in addition to the taxes paid to him by the merchants and traders, and the annual taxes paid by the kings of Arabia and by the governors of the regions in Israel.

16 King Solomon’s workers took this gold and hammered it into thin sheets and covered 200 large shields with those thin sheets of gold; they put ◄almost 15 pounds/more than 6 kg.► of gold on each shield. 17 His workers made 300 smaller shields. They covered each of them with ◄almost 4 pounds/1.5 kg.► of gold. Then the king put those shields in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 His workers also made for him a large throne. Part of it was covered with ◄ivory decorations made from► tusks of elephants and part of it was covered with very fine gold. 19-20 19-20There were six steps in front of the throne. There was a statue of a lion on both sides of each step. So altogether there were twelve statues of lions. The back of the throne was rounded at the top. At each side of the throne there was an armrest, and alongside each armrest there was a small statue of a lion. No throne like that had ever existed in any other kingdom. 21 All of Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the various dishes in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were made of gold. They did not make things from silver, because during the years that Solomon ruled, silver was not considered to be valuable. 22 The king had a ◄fleet/large number► of ships that sailed with the ships that King Hiram owned. Every three years the ships returned from the places to which they had sailed, bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and baboons (OR, peacocks).

23 King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king. 24 People from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wise things that Solomon said, things that God had put into his mind. 25 All the people who came to him brought presents: They brought things made from silver or gold, or robes, or weapons (OR, myrrh), or spices, or horses, or mules. The people continued to do this every year.

26 Solomon acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men who rode on the horses (OR, in the chariots). Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots. 27 During the years that Solomon was king, silver became as common in Jerusalem as stones; and lumber from cedar trees in the foothills of Judah was as plentiful as lumber from fig trees. 28 Solomon’s agents bought horses and supervised the men who brought them into Israel from the areas of Musri and Cilicia that were famous for breeding horses. 29 In Musri they bought chariots and horses; they paid 600 pieces of silver for each chariot and 150 pieces of silver for each horse. They brought them to Israel. Then they sold many of them to the kings of the Heth people-group and the kings of Syria.