7. I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Now I see that it is even greater than what I heard. Your wealth and wisdom are much greater than people told me.
8. Your wives and officers are very fortunate, because they serve you and hear your wisdom every day.
9. Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. Because of the Lord’S unending love for Israel, he has made you king to rule with justice and fairness.”
10. Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon 4 1/2 tons of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones. She gave him more spices than anyone has ever brought into Israel.
11. Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir. They also brought jewels and a special kind of wood.
12. Solomon used this special wood to build supports in the Temple and the palace as well as harps and lyres for the singers. That was the last time such a large shipment of that kind of wood was brought to Israel. There hasn’t been any seen around here since then.
13. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. He gave her more than she brought to give him. Then the queen of Sheba and her servants left and went back to their own country.
14. Every year King Solomon received almost 25 tons of gold.
15. In addition to the gold brought in by the traveling merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
16. King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. He used about 15 pounds of gold for each shield.
17. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold. He used almost 4 pounds of gold for each shield. The king put them in the Forest-of-Lebanon House.
18. King Solomon also built a large throne with ivory decorations. It was covered with pure gold.
19. There were six steps leading up to the throne. The back of the throne was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the throne, and there were lions in the sides of the throne under the armrests.
20. There were also two lions on each of the six steps, one at each end. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.
21. All of Solomon’s cups and glasses were made of gold, and all the dishes in the building called the Forest of Lebanon were made from pure gold. Nothing in the palace was made from silver. There was so much gold that in Solomon’s time people did not think silver was important.
22. The king also had many cargo ships that he sent out to trade things with other countries. These were Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ships would come back with a new load of gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons.