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1 Kings

The Wealth and Splendor of Solomon's Reign

10
Chapter 10
14 The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold. 15 besides the men of the tribute, the merchandise of the merchants, and all the kings of Arabia and governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went on each shield. 17 Three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went up on each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 Six steps to the throne, and a round head to the throne from behind it, and a hand on this side and on that side to the place of the sitting, and two lions standing beside the hands. 20 Twelve lions stood there on the six steps, one on each side; nothing like it was made for all the kingdoms. 21 All the drinking vessels of King Solomon were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were refined gold. There was no silver; it was not accounted as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king, Tarshish came to the sea with Hiram's ships. Every three years the ships of Tarshish came, bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 24 All the earth sought the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 And every visitor brought his own offering—vessels of silver and vessels of gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules—a yearly matter. 26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver in Jerusalem as common as stones, and he made cedars as common as sycamores in the Shephelah in abundance. 28 And Solomon's horses were exported from Egypt, and the king's traders would take them from the gathering at the price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty. They did the same for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.