Preparations for Building the Temple^(A)

5 ^[a]King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father. Hiram had always been David’s friend.

Solomon’s Wealth^(A)

¹⁴ The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed 49,950 pounds, ¹⁵ not counting the gold which came from the merchants, the traders’ profits, all the Arab kings, and the governors of the country.

¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, using 15 pounds of gold on each shield. ¹⁷ He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold, using four pounds of gold on each shield. The king put them in the hall which he called the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸ The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with fine gold. ¹⁹ Six steps led to the throne. Carved into the back of the throne was a calf’s head. There were armrests on both sides of the seat. Two lions stood beside the armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on six steps, one on each side. Nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

²¹ All King Solomon’s cups were gold, and all the utensils for the hall which he called the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. (Nothing was silver, because it wasn’t considered valuable in Solomon’s time.) ²² The king had a fleet headed for Tarshish with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the Tarshish fleet would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

²³ In wealth and wisdom King Solomon was greater than all the other kings of the world. ²⁴ The whole world wanted to listen to the wisdom that Elohim gave Solomon. ²⁵ So everyone who came brought him gifts: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This happened year after year.

²⁶ Solomon built up his army with chariots and war horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 war horses. He stationed some in chariot cities and others with himself in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as fig trees in the foothills.

²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders bought them from Kue for a fixed price. ²⁹ Each chariot was imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and each horse for 6 ounces of silver. For the same price they obtained horses to export to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.