14 The amount of gold that came to Shelomoh in one year was around twenty-two tonnes, 15 not counting what came from explorers and traders, and all the Arab kings, and the governors of the land.

16 King Shelomoh had two hundred body shields made from beaten gold overlaid over wood—each shield took six kilograms of gold. 17 He also had three hundred smaller shields made—each of them covered with two kilograms of gold—and placed in his ‘Lebanon Forest Hall’.

18 The king had a large ivory throne made and overlaid with pure gold. 19 It had six steps going up to it and the seat-back was rounded at the top. It had armrests on both sides, then a lion on each side next to the armrests, 20 plus twelve lions standing one on each side of the six steps. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

21 All of Shelomoh’s cups were gold, and the various dishes in the ‘Lebanon Forest Hall’ were also pure gold. Nothing was made out of silver because it was considered to be of little value during Shelomoh’s time 22 because the king had a fleet of ships that joined King Hiram’s fleet. Every three years the fleet would return bringing gold and silver, ivory, monkeys and baboons.[fn]

23 King Shelomoh became richer and wiser than any other king in the world, 24 and even people from distant countries would come to see Shelomoh to listen to the wisdom that God had given him. 25 Every visitor would bring a gift: gold containers, clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules. This continued year after year.

26 Shelomoh acquired 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed most of them in his chariot cities and some with him there in Yerushalem.[ref] 27 While he was king, silver in Yerushalem was given a value similar to stones, and cedar timber was given a value like that of the sycamores that grow in plenty in the lowlands.[ref] 28 Shelomoh acquired horses from Egypt and from Kue—his traders would acquire them from Kue for the king for a price.[ref] 29 An Egyptian chariot went for six hundred silver coins and a horse for one hundred and fifty. Then they’d export them again to the Hittite and Aramean kings.

13 In one year, Shelomoh received about twenty tonnes of gold, 14 as well as what the merchants and traders brought in. All the Arabian kings, and all the local governors brought gold and silver to Shelomoh. 15 King Shelomoh made two hundred large shields of beaten gold—six hundred gold coins worth of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 Also, three hundred smaller shields—three hundred gold coins worth of beaten gold went into each shield.

17 Then the king made a large, ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to it. It had armrests on each side, with a lion statue beside each armrest. 19 There were twelve statues of lions standing on the six steps—one at each end of each step. No throne like that existed in any other kingdom.

20 All of King Shelomoh’s cups were made of gold, and all the various dishes in ‘The House of the Lebanon Forest’ were refined gold. Nothing was made of silver, because in the time of Shelomoh’s reign, silver wasn’t considered valuable 21 because the king’s ships went to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Every three years the fleet would bring back gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons, 22 so King Shelomoh became greater than all the other kings in the world, both in wealth and in wisdom.

23 Kings from all over the world wanted to come and listen to the wisdom that God had given Shelomoh. 24 Each of them would bring gifts: gold and silver items, clothes, myrrh and spieces, horses and mules. (This continued year after year.)

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he kept some in the chariot cities and some close by in Yerushalem.[ref] 26 He ended up ruling over all the kings in the region from the Euphrates River in the northeast, west to the area of the Philistines, and south down to the Egyptian border.[ref] 27 The king made silver as common as stones, and cedar timber as common as the sycamore fig trees in the lowlands. 28 Horses were brought in from Egpyt (Heb. Mitsrayim) for Shelomoh and from other countries as well.[ref]

29 Everything else that Shelomoh did, from the beginning to the end, was written down by the prophet Natan, and the prophecy by Ahiyah (from Shiloh) and the prophet Iddo’s visions about Nevat’s son Yaraveam (Jeroboam) were also written down.