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2 CHR ONICL ES 10
page 391
own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of
your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was
told. 7 How happy your people must be! What
a privilege for your officials to stand here day
after day, listening to your wisdom! 8 Praise
the Lord your God, who delights in you and
has placed you on the throne as king to rule
for him. Because God loves Israel and desires
this kingdom to last forever, he has made you
king over them so you can rule with justice and
righteousness.”
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.
Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor
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
9:9 Hebrew 120 talents [4,000 kilograms]. 9:10 Hebrew
algum wood (also in 9:11); perhaps a variant spelling of almug.
Compare parallel text at 1 Kgs 10:11-12. 9:11 Or gateways.
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 9:13 Hebrew
666 talents [23 metric tons]. 9:15 Hebrew 600 [shekels] of
hammered gold [6.8 kilograms]. 9:16 Hebrew 300 [shekels]
of gold [3.4 kilograms]. 9:21a Hebrew Huram, a variant
spelling of Hiram. 9:21b Or and baboons. 9:25 Or 12,000
charioteers. 9:26 Hebrew the river. 9:27 Hebrew the
Shephelah. 9:28 Possibly Muzur, a district near Cilicia.
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. 24 Year after year everyone
who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold,
clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses
and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses.* He
stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and
some near him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all
the kings from the Euphrates River* in the north
to the land of the Philistines and the border of
Egypt in the south. 27 The king made silver as
plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable
cedar timber was as common as the sycamorefig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.*
28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt*
and many other countries.
Summary of Solomon’s Reign
29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from
beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of
Nathan the Prophet, and The Prophecy of Ahijah
from Shiloh, and also in The Visions of Iddo the
Seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty
years. 31 When he died, he was buried in the City
of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.
The Northern Tribes Revolt
Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all
Israel had gathered to make him king.
2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he
returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt
to escape from King Solomon. 3 The leaders of
Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and all
10
• Pride
2 C HR ON I C LES 10:1-19
In trying to have it all, Rehoboam lost
almost everything. Motivated by pride and
greed, he pressed too hard and divided
his kingdom. He didn’t need more money
or power because he had inherited the
richest kingdom in the world. He didn’t
need more control because the land
had peace. His demands were based
on selfish pride rather than on reason or
spiritual discernment. Those who insist
on having it all often wind up with little
or nothing.