12
The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)
13
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon’s Splendor
14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,
15
not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.
16
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
17
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18
Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.
19
The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.
20
Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.
21
All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days.
22
The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.