13. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba many gifts. He gave her gifts that a king would give to another ruler. Then he gave her whatever else she wanted and asked for. After this, she and her servants went back to her own country.
14. Every year King Solomon received about 50,000 pounds of gold.
15. Besides that he also received gold from the traders and merchants. And he received gold from the kings of Arabia and governors of the land.
16. King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. Each shield contained about seven and one-half pounds of gold.
17. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold. They each contained about three and three-fourths pounds of gold. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18. Then King Solomon built a large throne of ivory. And he covered it 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 chair. And beside each armrest was a statue of a lion.
20. Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom.
21. All of Solomon’s drinking cups were made of gold. All of the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made from silver. In Solomon’s time people did not think silver was valuable.
22. King Solomon also had many trading ships at sea, along with Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ships returned. They brought back gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons.
23. So Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth.