1 Kings 8:23

23 and said: “LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

1 Kings 8:23 in Other Translations

KJV
23 And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
ESV
23 and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,
NLT
23 and he prayed, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.
MSG
23 and prayed,
CSB
23 He said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, keeping the gracious covenant with Your servants who walk before You with their whole heart.

1 Kings 8:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:23

And he said, Lord God of Israel
Their covenant God and Father, whereby he was distinguished from all the gods of the Gentiles:

there is no god like thee; in heaven above or on earth beneath;
none among the angels in heaven, nor among kings and civil magistrates on earth, who both are sometimes called "Elohim" gods; but only in a figurative sense, and not to be compared with the one only true God, for the perfection of his nature, or the works of his hands:

who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee
with all their heart;
performs his promises, by which he both declares his mercy or goodness and his faithfulness to such who walk before him, in his ways, and according to his word, in the sincerity and uprightness of their hearts.

1 Kings 8:23 In-Context

21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven
23 and said: “LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.
24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
25 “Now LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Exodus 9:14; 1 Samuel 2:2; 2 Samuel 7:22
  • 2. S Deuteronomy 7:9,12; Nehemiah 1:5; Nehemiah 9:32; Daniel 9:4
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