1 Kings 8:40
in 1 Kings 8so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
KJV
That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
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This verse in 1 Kings 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThat they may fear thee,.... For his goodness sake in hearing their prayer, removing their affliction, and bestowing his blessings on them, particularly in forgiving their sins, see Psa 130:4. all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers; not only for the present, while the mercy is fresh, but all the days of their lives; to which they were the more obliged by the good land they possessed as a divine gift, and which they held by the tenure of their obedience, Isa 1:19.
This site's exposition
famine, if there be pestilence
on 1 Kings 8:37-40
The fourth petition gathers famine, pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust and siege into one list, the same catalogue of curses Lev 26 and Deut 28 had already attached to covenant unfaithfulness. Solomon widens the request from the nation as a whole to any man who knows the plague of his own heart, Wesley reading plague there as the sin itself rather than only its penalty, the true sickness beneath every visible one. The petition ends on the Lord's unique knowledge of every heart, thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men, a claim no priest at the altar could make on his own authority.
This site's exposition
fear You all the days they live
The fear here follows the hearing and forgiving of verse 39, the order Psalm 130:4 gives, and Matthew Henry and John Gill both cite that psalm. Gill stretches it across all their days in the land they live in. Forgiven people fear the God who forgave.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thou knowest which prayer comes from the heart, and which from the lips only." The hearts of kings are not unsearchable to God. [ b. ] To his justice: Give to every man according to his ways; and he will not fail to do so, by the rules of grace, not the law, for then we should all be undone. [ c. ] To his mercy: Hear, and forgive, and do (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
This use we should make of the mercy of God to us in hearing our prayers and forgiving our sins, we should thereby he engaged to fear him while we live. Fear the Lord and his goodness. There is forgiveness with him, that he may be feared. c.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
(When the regular congregation unanimously left their seats to be occupied by strangers, who crowded the building to its utmost capacity). You all know that the Temple at Jerusalem was the one place of sacrifice throughout all the holy land, for thus had the Lord spoken, "Whatever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and brings it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord: even that man shall be cut off from among his people."
(When the regular congregation unanimously left their seats to be occupied by strangers, who crowded the building to its utmost capacity). You all know that the Temple at Jerusalem was the one place of sacrifice throughout all the holy land, for thus had the Lord spoken, "Whatever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and brings it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord: even that man shall be cut off from among his people." According to God's Law there was one altar and it was counted a high crime when the tribes which dwelt beyond Jordan built another. And their brethren sought them, saying, "Rebel not against the Lord in building an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God" (Josh. 22:19). As there was only one high priest, so there was only one altar—and sacrifice might not be offered anywhere else but on that altar at Jerusalem. Therefore, when a man wished to present his offerings to God, he went up to the Temple which Solomon dedicated by the prayer in which our text occurs. The people afterwards built altars on high hills and in green groves, but these places and the sacrifices offered there were contrary to the mind of God. There was but one altar and one sacrifice—and that was at the Temple. That is why, when the godly Israelite prayed, he looked towards the one place of sacrifice, not in superstition, but in believing remembrance of the one sacrifice and the one altar and the one glorious token of the Divine Presence which shone over the Mercy Seat within the veil. He knew that God could only accept him through the one sacrifice and, therefore, he looked that way. The people especially looked toward the Temple in prayer in times of national calamity.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַ֙עַן֙ | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יִֽרָא֔וּךָ | yiraukha | they may fear you | H3372 → | 315 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַ֨יָּמִ֔ים | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| חַיִּ֖ים | chaiyim | [will be] alive | H2416 → | 498 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֲדָמָ֑ה | haadamah | the ground | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֖תָּה | natatah | you gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַאֲבֹתֵֽינוּ׃ | laavoteinu | to ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
לְמַ֙עַן֙so that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יִֽרָא֔וּךָthey may fear you
yiraukhaH3372 →315 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַ֨יָּמִ֔יםthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הֵ֥םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
חַיִּ֖ים[will be] alive
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֲדָמָ֑הthe ground
haadamahH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֖תָּהyou gave
natatahH5414 →2011 times
לַאֲבֹתֵֽינוּ׃to ancestors our
laavoteinuH1 →1212 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
Genesis 22:12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”
it leads to
- James 2:21–22
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
- James 2:18
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
- James 2:21–22
Through
Psalms 130:4But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 33:8–9
And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
- Psalms 86:5
For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
- Daniel 9:9
To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him
- 1 Kings 8:39–40
be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts…
- Jeremiah 33:8–9
Through
Deuteronomy 6:13Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 13:4
You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 13:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1489: “The Plague of the Heart” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.