¹³Each year Solomon received 25 tons of gold. ¹⁴That didn’t include the money that was brought in by business and trade. All of the kings of Arabia also brought gold and silver to Solomon. So did the governors of Israel.

¹⁵King Solomon made 200 large shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed seven and a half pounds. ¹⁶He 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.

¹⁷Then he made a large throne. It was decorated with ivory. It was covered with pure gold. ¹⁸The throne had six steps. A gold stool for the king’s feet was connected to it. The throne had armrests on both sides of the seat. A statue of a lion stood on each side of the throne. ¹⁹Twelve 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.

²⁰All 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.

²¹He had many ships that carried goods to be traded. The crews of those ships were made up of Hiram’s men. Once every three years the ships returned. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons.

²²King Solomon was richer than all of the other kings on earth. He was also wiser than they were.

²³All of these kings wanted to meet Solomon in person. They wanted to see for themselves how wise God had made him. ²⁴Year 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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