1 Kings 8:26-36

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be made firm, which thou didst speak unto thy slave David, my father.
27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built?
28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy slave and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy slave prays before thee today,
29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there that thou may hearken unto the prayer which thy slave shall make in this place.
30 Therefore, thou shalt hearken unto the supplication of thy slave and of thy people Israel when they shall pray in this place and hear in thy dwelling place, from the heavens; please hear and forgive.
31 When anyone shall have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath is laid upon him to cause him to swear and the oath comes before thy altar in this house,
32 thou shalt hear from heaven and do and judge thy slaves, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33 When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy because they have sinned against thee and shall turn again to thee and confess thy name and pray and make supplication with humility unto thee in this house,
34 then thou shalt hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy people Israel and bring them again unto the land which thou didst give unto their fathers.
35 When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee, if they pray in this place and confess thy name and turn from their sin when thou hast afflicted them,
36 then thou shalt hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy slaves and of thy people Israel, teaching them the good way in which they should walk and shalt give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

1 Kings 8:26-36 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, 1Ki 8:1-9 of the glory of the Lord filling it, 1Ki 8:10,11 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, 1Ki 8:12-21, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, 1Ki 8:22-53, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, 1Ki 8:54-61, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, 1Ki 8:62-66.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010