1 Kings 8:43

43 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

1 Kings 8:43 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:43

Hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace
The prayer of the stranger:

and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for;
which were consistent with the will of God and his glory, and for the good of the stranger; this is more absolutely and unconditionally expressed than the requests for the Israelites; it is not desired that he would do by them according to their ways, and if they turned from their sins, or knew the plague of their hearts; the reason of which is supposed to be, because the Israelites knew the will of God, when the strangers did not; and therefore it is desired that, notwithstanding their ignorance, and their non-compliance with the divine will, through that, they might be heard and answered:

that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy
people Israel;
might know him to be a God, hearing and answering prayer, forgiving sin, and bestowing favours, which might lead them to fear him and his goodness, as Israel did:

and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called
by thy name;
that he dwelt in it, granted his presence, heard and received the supplications of men, answered their requests, and accepted of their sacrifices here. Solomon seems to have had knowledge of the calling of the Gentiles, and to desire it.

1 Kings 8:43 In-Context

41 And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—

42 for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,

43 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

44 When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name,

45 then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.