20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time,
22 for the king had ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
23 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.
24 The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
25 Every man would bring his annual tribute: items of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, and horses and mules.
26 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.