And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
Parallel translations
- WEB The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
- KJV And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
- BSB The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.
- NKJV The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
- NLT The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon made silver as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore in Jerusalem. It vividly portrays the unprecedented abundance of his reign.
Overview
The capital overflowed with precious metal and fine timber to the point that costly things became ordinary. This striking image captures the peak of Israel's prosperity under Solomon. While such abundance reflected God's lavish blessing, the surrounding verses show wealth and military might multiplying in ways the law had cautioned against, foreshadowing the dangers of unrestrained prosperity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Chr 1:15–17The king made silver and gold to be as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars to be as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
- 2 Chr 9:27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as abundant as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
- Deut 17:17He shall not multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away. He shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
- Job 22:24–25Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 10:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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