9. Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10. (In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwood and precious jewels.
11. The king used the sandalwood to make steps for the Temple of the lord and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.)
12. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for—gifts of greater value than the gifts she had given him. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.
13. Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold.
14. This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15. King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds.
16. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 71/2 pounds. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17. Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.
18. The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne.
19. There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!
20. All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!
21. The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish manned by the sailors sent by Hiram. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22. So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth.
23. Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him.