1 Kings 10:16

THE MESSAGE

King Solomon crafted two hundred body-length shields of hammered gold—seven and a half pounds of gold to each shield—and three hundred smaller shields about half that size. He stored the shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds of gold went into each shield.

Hebrew Names Version
King Shlomo made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one buckler.

King James Version
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.

English Standard Version
King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.

New Century Version
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about seven and one-half pounds of gold.

New English Translation
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield.

Amplified Bible
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten (hammered) gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

New American Standard Bible
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And King Salomon made two hundreth targets of beaten golde, sixe hundreth shekels of gold went to a target:

Legacy Standard Bible
And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield.

Contemporary English Version
Solomon made two hundred gold shields and used about seven and a half pounds of gold for each one.

Complete Jewish Bible
King Shlomo made 200 large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds of gold went into one shield.

Darby Translation
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold,—he applied six hundred [shekels] of gold to one target;

Easy-to-Read Version
King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. He used about 15 pounds of gold for each shield.

George Lamsa Translation
And King Solomon made two hundred shields of pure gold; six hundred minas of gold went into each shield;

Good News Translation
Solomon made two hundred large shields and had each one overlaid with almost fifteen pounds of gold.

Lexham English Bible
King Solomon made two hundred shields of hammered gold; six hundred measures of gold went up over each shield.

Literal Translation
And King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And kynge Salomon caused to make two hundreth speares of beaten golde, sixe hundreth peces of golde put he to euery speare:

American Standard Version
And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler.

Bible in Basic English
And Solomon made two hundred body-covers of hammered gold, every one having six hundred shekels of gold in it.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And king Solomon made two hundred targettes of beaten golde: sixe hundred sicles of golde went to a target.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.

King James Version (1611)
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten golde: sixe hundred shekels of golde went to one target.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Solomon made three hundred spears of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold were upon one spear.

English Revised Version
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one target.

Berean Standard Bible
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And kyng Salomon made two hundrid scheeldis of pureste gold; he yaf sixe hundrid siclis of gold in to the platis of oo scheeld;

Young's Literal Translation
And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold -- six hundred of gold go up on the one target;

Update Bible Version
And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one buckler.

Webster's Bible Translation
And king Solomon made two hundred targets [of] beaten gold: six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one target.

World English Bible
King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one buckler.

New King James Version
And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

New Living Translation
King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than fifteen pounds.

New Life Bible
King Solomon made 200 large body coverings for battle of beaten gold. For each covering he used 600 pieces of gold.

New Revised Standard
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each large shield.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And King Solomon made two hundred shields, of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold, laid he upon one shield;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield.

Revised Standard Version
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield.

Contextual Overview

¹⁴Solomon received twenty-five tons of gold in tribute annually. This was above and beyond the taxes and profit on trade with merchants and assorted kings and governors. ¹⁶King Solomon crafted two hundred body-length shields of hammered gold—seven and a half pounds of gold to each shield—and three hundred smaller shields about half that size. He stored the shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸The king built a massive throne of ivory accented with a veneer of gold. The throne had six steps leading up to it, its back shaped like an arch. The armrests on each side were flanked by lions. Lions, twelve of them, were placed at either end of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any of the surrounding kingdoms. ²¹ King Solomon's chalices and tankards were made of gold and all the dinnerware and serving utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold—nothing was made of silver; silver was considered common and cheap. ²² The king had a fleet of ocean-going ships at sea with Hiram's ships. Every three years the fleet would bring in a cargo of gold, silver, and ivory, and apes and peacocks. ²³King Solomon was wiser and richer than all the kings of the earth—he surpassed them all. People came from all over the world to be with Solomon and drink in the wisdom God had given him. And everyone who came brought gifts—artifacts of gold and silver, fashionable robes and gowns, the latest in weapons, exotic spices, and horses and mules—parades of visitors, year after year. ²⁶Solomon collected chariots and horses: fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses! He stabled them in the special chariot cities as well as in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common as rocks and cedar as common as the fig trees in the lowland hills. His horses were brought in from Egypt and Cilicia, specially acquired by the king's agents. Chariots from Egypt went for fifteen pounds of silver and a horse for about three and three-quarter pounds of silver. Solomon carried on a brisk horse-trading business with the Hittite and Aramean royal houses.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

two hundred: Mr. Reynolds computes that these 200 targets were worth 28,131 16s. 9d.; and that the 300 shields were worth 210,976 7s. 7d. 1 Kings 14:26-28, 2 Chronicles 9:15, 2 Chronicles 9:16, 2 Chronicles 12:9, 2 Chronicles 12:10

Reciprocal: Exodus 25:36 - beaten 1 Samuel 17:6 - target of brass 2 Samuel 8:7 - shields 1 Chronicles 18:7 - shields 2 Chronicles 1:14 - Solomon

Cross-References

Judges 1:21
But the people of Benjamin couldn't get rid of the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Benjaminites and Jebusites live side by side in Jerusalem to this day.

2 Samuel 24:18
That same day Gad came to David and said, "Go and build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." David did what Gad told him, what God commanded.

Zechariah 9:7
The Whole World Has Its Eyes on God War Bulletin: God 's Message challenges the country of Hadrach. It will settle on Damascus. The whole world has its eyes on God . Israel isn't the only one. That includes Hamath at the border, and Tyre and Sidon, clever as they think they are. Tyre has put together quite a kingdom for herself; she has stacked up silver like cordwood, piled gold high as haystacks. But God will certainly bankrupt her; he will dump all that wealth into the ocean and burn up what's left in a big fire. Ashkelon will see it and panic, Gaza will wring its hands, Ekron will face a dead end. Gaza's king will die. Ashkelon will be emptied out, And a villain will take over in Ashdod. "I'll take proud Philistia down a peg: I'll make him spit out his bloody booty and abandon his vile ways." What's left will be all God's—a core of survivors, a family brought together in Judah— But enemies like Ekron will go the way of the Jebusites, into the dustbin of history. "I will set up camp in my home country and defend it against invaders. Nobody is going to hurt my people ever again. I'm keeping my eye on them. "Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion! Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem! Your king is coming! a good king who makes all things right, a humble king riding a donkey, a mere colt of a donkey. I've had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim, no more war horses in Jerusalem, no more swords and spears, bows and arrows. He will offer peace to the nations, a peaceful rule worldwide, from the four winds to the seven seas. "And you, because of my blood covenant with you, I'll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells. Come home, hope-filled prisoners! This very day I'm declaring a double bonus— everything you lost returned twice-over! Judah is now my weapon, the bow I'll pull, setting Ephraim as an arrow to the string. I'll wake up your sons, O Zion, to counter your sons, O Greece. From now on people are my swords." Then God will come into view, his arrows flashing like lightning! Master God will blast his trumpet and set out in a whirlwind. God -of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them— all-out war, The war to end all wars, no holds barred. Their God will save the day. He'll rescue them. They'll become like sheep, gentle and soft, Or like gemstones in a crown, catching all the colors of the sun. Then how they'll shine! shimmer! glow! the young men robust, the young women lovely!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold,.... Which were a larger sort of shields, which covered the whole body; and these were made of gold beaten with the hammer, or drawn into plates, being melted like wax; so the Poeni or Carthaginians made shields of gold m:

six hundred shekels of gold went to one target; which is to be understood not of the weight, but of the price or value of them, which amounted to four hundred and fifty pounds of our money; so Brerewood n.

m Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 35. 3. n Ut supra. (De Ponder. & Pret. c. 5.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The “targets” seem to have been long shields protecting the whole body, while the “shields” of the next verse were bucklers of a smaller size, probably round, and much lighter. They may be compared with the Assyrian long shield, and the ordinary Assyrian round shield. As the amount of gold used in each of the larger shields was only 600 shekels - worth from 650 to 700 of our money - and that used in the smaller ones was only half as much it is evident that the metal did not form the substance of the shields, but was laid as a coating or plating over them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 10:16. Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold — I have already conjectured that the צנה tsinnah might resemble the Highland targe or target, with a dagger projecting from the UMBO or centre.