1 Kings 8:53

53 You handpicked them from all the peoples on earth to be your very own people, as you announced through your servant Moses when you, O God, in your masterful rule, delivered our ancestors from Egypt.

1 Kings 8:53 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:53

For thou didst separate them from among all people of the
earth to be thine inheritance
By his choice of them in his own mind, by the redemption of them out of Egypt, by the peculiar laws he gave them, and by the special blessings he conferred upon them:

as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest
our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord our God;
it was he that spake this to Moses, and by him to the people, ( Exodus 19:5 Exodus 19:6 ) and it was he that did it, namely, separate them from all nations, to be his people and peculiar treasure: in this and the two preceding verses Solomon makes use of arguments taken from what the people of Israel were to the Lord, and he had done for them, to engage him to hearken to their supplications, and here ends his long prayer; in ( 2 Chronicles 6:1 ) some things are added at the close of it, and some omitted.

1 Kings 8:53 In-Context

51 They are, after all, your people and your precious inheritance whom you rescued from the heart of that iron-smelting furnace, Egypt!
52 O be alert and attentive to the needy prayers of me, your servant, and your dear people Israel; listen every time they cry out to you!
53 You handpicked them from all the peoples on earth to be your very own people, as you announced through your servant Moses when you, O God, in your masterful rule, delivered our ancestors from Egypt.
54 Having finished praying to God - all these bold and passionate prayers - Solomon stood up before God's Altar where he had been kneeling all this time, his arms stretched upward to heaven.
55 Standing, he blessed the whole congregation of Israel, blessing them at the top of his lungs:
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.