1 Kings 8:39

39 Hear [them] in heaven, where you live. Forgive [them], and take action. Give each person the proper reply. (You know what is in their hearts, because you alone know what is in the hearts of all people.)

1 Kings 8:39 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:39

Then hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace
Which was more properly so than this Solomon had built, and the Lord had taken possession of:

and forgive;
remove the calamity and distress, be it what it may:

and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart
thou knowest:
that his prayer is cordial and sincere, his confession and repentance genuine, and that he is truly sensible of his sin, and sorry for it, and is pure in his intentions and resolutions, through divine grace, to depart from it for the future:

(for thou, [even] thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of
men;)
he knows all men, the hearts of them all, what is in them, what comes out of them, and is according to them; omniscience belongs only to God; it is his prerogative to know the heart and search the reins, see ( Jeremiah 17:9 Jeremiah 17:10 ) .

1 Kings 8:39 In-Context

37 "There may be famine in the land. Plant diseases, heat waves, funguses, locusts, or grasshoppers may destroy crops. Enemies may blockade Israel's city gates. During every plague or sickness

38 [hear] every prayer for mercy, made by one person or by all the people in Israel, whose consciences bother them, who stretch out their hands toward this temple.

39 Hear [them] in heaven, where you live. Forgive [them], and take action. Give each person the proper reply. (You know what is in their hearts, because you alone know what is in the hearts of all people.)

40 Then, as long as they live in the land that you gave to our ancestors, they will fear you.

41 "People will hear about your great name, mighty hand, and powerful arm. So when people who are not Israelites come from distant countries because of your name