1 Chronicles 29:20
in 1 Chronicles 29Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David said to all the assembly, Now bless Jehovah your God. And all the assembly blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Jehovah, and the king.
KJV
And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Worshipped the Lord, and the king - The same outward signs of reverence were accorded by the customs of the Jews (as of the Oriental nations generally) to God and to their monarchs (see 1Ki 1:31). But the application of the terms to both in the same passage, which occurs nowhere in Scripture but here, is thought to indicate a time when a long servitude under despotic lords had orientalized men’s mode of speech.
This site's exposition
Now bless the Lord your God
David calls the whole congregation to bless the Lord, and they do, bowing their heads and worshipping the Lord, and the king, in the same clause. Barnes flags the pairing as unusual, the only place in Scripture where one verb of worship covers both God and a human ruler in one sentence, and reads it as the ordinary court gesture of bowing rather than any claim that David received honour due to God alone. The bow to the king answers what the Lord has done through him, not a second object of worship beside the Lord.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Whoever is the mouth of the congregation, those only have the benefit who join with him, not by bowing down the head so much as by lifting up the soul. They paid their respects to the king, looking upon him as an instrument in God's hand of much good to them; and, in honouring him, they honoured God. The next day they offered abundance of sacrifices to God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And David said to all the congregation,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
all the congregation . . . worshipped the Lord, and the king--Though the external attitude might be the same, the sentiments of which it was expressive were very different in the two cases--of divine worship in the one, of civil homage in the other. 21, 22. they sacrificed . . .
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Worshipped the Lord, and the king - They did reverence to God as the supreme Ruler, and to the king as his deputy.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִיד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַקָּהָ֔ל | hakahal | the assembly | H6951 → | 123 times |
| בָּֽרְכוּ־ | barekhu- | bless | H1288 → | 330 times |
| נָ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיְבָרֲכ֣וּ | vayvarakhu | and they blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| כָֽל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַקָּהָ֗ל | hakahal | the assembly | H6951 → | 123 times |
| לַיהוָה֙ | layahweh | <to> Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבֹֽתֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾavoteihem | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַיִּקְּד֧וּ | vaiyikedu | and they bowed low | H6915 → | |
| וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֛וּ | vaiyishtachavu | and they bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְלַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | velamelekh | and to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִיד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הַקָּהָ֔לthe assembly
hakahalH6951 →123 times
בָּֽרְכוּ־bless
barekhu-H1288 →330 times
נָ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
וַיְבָרֲכ֣וּand they blessed
vayvarakhuH1288 →330 times
כָֽל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַקָּהָ֗לthe assembly
hakahalH6951 →123 times
לַיהוָה֙<to> Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבֹֽתֵיהֶ֔םancestors their
ʾavoteihemH1 →1212 times
וַיִּקְּד֧וּand they bowed low
vaiyikeduH6915 →
וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֛וּand they bowed down
vaiyishtachavuH7812 →172 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְלַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃and to the king
velamelekhH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 95:6O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Psalms 100:3
Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
- Ephesians 3:14
... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
- Psalms 95:1
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
- 1 Corinthians 6:20
you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
- Philippians 2:10
Through
Exodus 4:31and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:27
you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:27
Through
Genesis 24:26Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
it leads to
- Genesis 24:48
Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother…
- Genesis 24:48
Through
Proverbs 24:21My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
it leads to
- Romans 13:1–7
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- Romans 13:1–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.