1 Kings 11:37

37 "But I have taken you in hand. Rule to your heart's content! You are to be the king of Israel.

1 Kings 11:37 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:37

And I will take thee
From the low estate in which he was, to be king:

and thou shall reign according to all that thy soul desireth;
he being ambitious of the kingdom, and having already formed in his mind some designs upon it:

and shall be king over Israel;
the ten tribes.

1 Kings 11:37 In-Context

35 But after that I'll remove the kingdom from his son's control and give you ten tribes.
36 I'll leave one tribe to his son, to maintain a witness to my servant David in Jerusalem, the city I chose as a memorial to my Name.
37 "But I have taken you in hand. Rule to your heart's content! You are to be the king of Israel.
38 If you listen to what I tell you and live the way I show you and do what pleases me, following directions and obeying orders as my servant David did, I'll stick with you no matter what. I'll build you a kingdom as solid as the one I built for David. Israel will be yours!
39 I am bringing pain and trouble on David's descendants, but the trials won't last forever."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.