13
Each year Solomon received about 25 tons 1 of gold.
14
This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15
King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds. 2
16
He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1/2 pounds. 3 The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17
Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.
18
The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne.
19
There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!
20
All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!
21
The king had a fleet of trading ships 4 manned by the sailors sent by Hiram. 5 Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 6
22 So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. 23 Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. 24 Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. 25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses. 7 He stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River 8 in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. 27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. 9 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt 10 and many other countries.