¹⁴Each year Solomon received 25 tons of gold. ¹⁵That didn’t include the money that was brought in by business and trade. It also didn’t include the money from all of the kings of Arabia and the governors of Israel.

¹⁶King Solomon made 200 large shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed seven and a half pounds. ¹⁷He also made 300 small shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed almost four pounds. The king put all of the shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸Then he made a large throne. It was decorated with ivory. It was covered with fine gold. ¹⁹The throne had six steps. Its back had a rounded top. The throne had armrests on both sides of the seat. A statue of a lion stood on each side of the throne. ²⁰Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one at each end of each step. Nothing like that throne had ever been made for any other kingdom.

²¹All of King Solomon’s cups were made out of gold. All of the articles that were used in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made out of pure gold. Nothing was made out of silver. When Solomon was king, silver wasn’t considered to be worth very much.

²²He had many ships that carried goods to be traded. His ships went to sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships returned. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons.

²³King Solomon was richer than all of the other kings on earth. He was also wiser than they were. ²⁴People from the whole world wanted to meet Solomon in person. They wanted to see for themselves how wise God had made him. ²⁵Year after year, everyone who came to him brought a gift. They brought articles that were made out of silver and gold. They brought robes, weapons and spices. They also brought horses and mules.

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