8. Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. The Lord God loves Israel, so he made you the king. You follow the law and treat people fairly.”
9. Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon 4 1/2 tons of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones. She gave Solomon more spices than anyone has ever brought into Israel.
10. Hiram’s servants brought gold from Ophir. They also brought in jewels and a special kind of wood.
11. King Solomon used this special wood to make steps for the Lord’S Temple and the king’s palace. Solomon also used the algum wood to make lyres and harps for the singers. No one ever saw such beautiful things like those made from the algum wood in the country of Judah.
12. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. He gave her more than she brought to give him. Then the queen of Sheba and her servants left and went back to their own country.
13. Every year Solomon got almost 25 tons of gold.
14. In addition to the gold brought in by the traveling merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15. King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. He used about 15 pounds of gold for each shield.