20. All of Solomon’s cups and glasses were made of gold. And all the dishes in the building called the “Forest of Lebanon” were made from pure gold. Nothing in the palace was made from silver. There was so much gold that in Solomon’s time people did not think silver was important!
21. The king also had cargo ships that went to Tarshish to trade things with other countries. Hiram’s men were on these ships. Every three years the ships would come back with a new load of gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons.
22. King Solomon became greater in riches and wisdom than any other king on earth.
23. People everywhere wanted to see King Solomon. They wanted to hear the great wisdom that God had given him.
24. Every year people came to see the king, and everyone brought a gift. They brought things made from gold and silver, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
25. Solomon had 4000 stalls to keep horses and chariots. He had 12,000 horse soldiers. Solomon built special cities for these chariots. So the chariots were kept in these cities. King Solomon also kept some of the chariots with him in Jerusalem.
26. Solomon was the king over all the kings from the Euphrates River all the way to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.