1 Kings 5:3

3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.

1 Kings 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 5:3

Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house
unto the name of the Lord his God
As he designed, and was desirous of; and which Hiram might know not only by common fame, but from David himself, between whom there was an intercourse, and that in relation to cedars for building, which David had of Hiram, ( 2 Chronicles 2:3 ) ;

for the wars which were about him on every side;
or warriors, as the Targum, the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, and Syrians:

until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet;
made them subject and tributary to him, as he did at length, see ( 2 Samuel 7:1 ) ( 8:1 ) so the "Cetib", or textual reading, is; but the "Keri", or marginal reading, is, "under the soles of my feet"; that is, Solomon's, which agrees with what follows; it was true of both.

1 Kings 5:3 In-Context

1 Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

2 And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:

3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.

4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.

5 So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’