1 Kings 8:30

30 "¹Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, ²when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and ³forgive.

1 Kings 8:30 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:30

And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of
thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place
Not only he desires his prayers might be heard, but those of the people of Israel, then, and at all times in succeeding ages, whenever they should look towards the temple, and to him that was typified by it; to whose blood, righteousness, sacrifice and mediation, the acceptance of prayers with God is to be ascribed:

and hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace;
for though he condescended to take up his residence in the temple, yet his more proper and more glorious dwelling was in heaven, and from whence, notwithstanding the distance of it, he could hear the prayers of his people, and does:

and when thou hearest, forgive;
manifest and apply pardoning grace and mercy on account of sins confessed, and repented of; or remove calamities and distresses on account of sin, which sometimes is meant, and frequently in this prayer, by the forgiveness of sin.

1 Kings 8:30 In-Context

28 "Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;

29 that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, 'My name shall be there,' to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

30 "Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive.

31 "If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house,

32 then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

Cross References

• 1. Nehemiah 1:6
• 2. Daniel 6:10
• 3. Exodus 34:6, 7; Psalms 85:2; Daniel 9:9; 1 John 1:9