Solomon's riches
13 Solomon received 25 tons of gold each year. 14 He also received money from traders and from people who travelled to buy things. The kings of Arabia and the rulers of each region in Israel also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon's workers used gold to make 200 large shields. They hit the gold with hammers to make it flat. They used about four kilograms of gold to cover each shield. 16 They also made 300 small shields in the same way. They used about 2 kilograms of gold to cover each shield. He put these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 The king used ivory to make a large throne. He covered it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps up to the throne. They fixed a gold box to the throne for the king to put his feet on. On both sides of the seat there were places to put his arms. An image of a lion stood on each side of the throne. 19 There were 12 more images of lions on the six steps. There was one lion at each end of every step. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom. 20 They used gold to make all King Solomon's cups that he drank from. In the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, all the dishes and other things were made with gold. They used pure gold. They did not make anything with silver. In Solomon's time, people did not think that silver was very valuable. 21 The king had many large ships that King Hiram's men could sail across the seas. Every three years they returned to Solomon with their loads. They brought to him gold, silver and ivory. They also brought apes and monkeys.
9:21There was no sea at Jerusalem, so Solomon kept his ships with King Hiram. Hiram lived in Tyre, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
9:21‘monkeys’ or ‘peacocks’. ‘Apes’ are animals like big monkeys. Peacocks are beautiful birds.
22 King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king in the world. 23 The kings of every nation in the world wanted to talk to Solomon. They wanted to listen to the wisdom that God had given to him. 24 Every year, people who came to visit Solomon brought him gifts. They brought things that were made from silver and gold, as well as clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules.
25 Solomon had places to keep 4,000 horses that pulled his chariots. He also had 12,000 horses. He kept them in the cities that he had chosen for this and also in Jerusalem where he lived. 26 He ruled over all the kings around Israel, from the Euphrates river as far as the Philistines' country and the border of Egypt. 27 While Solomon ruled as king, there was as much silver in Jerusalem as stones! There was as much wood from cedar trees as there were fig trees that grew in the low hills in the west. 28 People brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all the other countries.
