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.
24. People everywhere wanted to see King Solomon. They wanted to hear the wisdom God had given him.
25. Every year everyone who came brought a gift. They brought things made of gold and silver, along with clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules.
26. So Solomon had many chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 chariot soldiers. He kept some in special cities for the chariots. And he kept some with him in Jerusalem.
27. In Jerusalem silver was as common as stones while Solomon was king. Cedar trees were as common as the fig trees growing on the mountain slopes.