1 Kings 3:14

14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

1 Kings 3:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 3:14

And if thou wilt walk in my ways
Prescribed and directed to in his word, to keep my statutes and my commandments;
ceremonial, moral, and judicial: as thy father David did walk;
which Solomon himself had observed, ( 1 Kings 3:6 ) ; and whose walk was worthy of his imitation: then I will lengthen thy days;
the other promises of riches and honour are absolute, but this of long life conditional, depending upon his holy walk and conversation; and hence, because he failed in this the Jews observe he did not attain to long life, dying, as they suppose, at fifty two years of age; which is grounded on a wrong hypothesis, that he was but twelve years of age when he he began to reign, and he reigned forty years, as before observed.

1 Kings 3:14 In-Context

12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!
13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!
14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
15 Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.
16 Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.