1 Kings 10:23

10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. ¹ 

1 Kings 10:15

10:15 besides what he collected from the merchants, ²  traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land.

1 Kings 20:31

20:31 His advisers ³  said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind. ⁴  Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads ⁵  and surrender ⁶  to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives.”

1 Kings 4:34

4:34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom; ⁷  they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.

1 Kings 10:29

10:29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. ⁸ 

1 Kings 16:33

16:33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he ⁹  did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

1 Kings 4:24

4:24 His royal court was so large because ¹⁰  he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah ¹¹  to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. ¹² 

[10:23]  ¹ tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”

[10:15]  ² tn Heb “traveling men.”

[20:31]  ³ tn Or “servants.”

[20:31]  ⁴ tn Or “merciful.” The word used here often means “devoted” or “loyal.” Perhaps the idea is that the Israelite kings are willing to make treaties with other kings.

[20:31]  ⁵ sn Sackcloth was worn as a sign of sorrow and repentance. The precise significance of the ropes on the head is uncertain, but it probably was a sign of submission. These actions were comparable to raising a white flag on the battlefield or throwing in the towel in a boxing match.

[20:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “go out.”

[4:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “the wisdom of Solomon.”

[10:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “and a chariot went up and came out of Egypt for six hundred silver [pieces], and a horse for one hundred fifty, and in the same way to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram by their hand they brought out.”

[16:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “Ahab”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.

[4:24]  ⁸ sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.

[4:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”