1 Kings 9:4
in 1 Kings 9And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances;
KJV
And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 9
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIf we perform our part of the covenant, God will not fail to perform his; if we improve the grace God has given us, he will confirm us to the end. Let not the children of godly parents expect the entail of the blessing, unless they tread in the steps of those that have gone before them to heaven, and keep up the virtue and piety of their ancestors.
This site's exposition
in integrity of heart, and in uprightness
on 1 Kings 9:4-5
The promise to David at 2 Samuel 7:12-16 returns here fitted with an if: David's dynasty stands, but each king's own portion in it is conditioned on walking as David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness. Solomon hears the same terms David kept and Saul forfeited, judgment for judgment, statute for statute, with David held up as the standard rather than as an exception. The covenant tested king by king through the rest of these two books starts its accounting here, before a single king after Solomon has reigned a day.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness..... Who, though guilty of many sins and failings in life, yet was sincere and upright in the worship of God, never apostatized from it, or fell into idolatry, which is what is chiefly respected: to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments; observe all the laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
See 1Ki 3:14. Solomon’s subsequent fall lends to these repeated warnings a special interest.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֞ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תֵּלֵ֣ךְ | telekh | you will walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְפָנַ֗י | lefanai | <to> before me | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָלַ֜ךְ | halakh | he walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| דָּוִ֤ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אָבִ֙יךָ֙ | ʾavikha | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בְּתָם־ | betom- | in integrity of | H8537 → | |
| לֵבָ֣ב | levav | heart | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וּבְיֹ֔שֶׁר | uveyosher | and in uprightness | H3476 → | |
| לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת | laasot | by doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כְּכֹ֖ל | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוִּיתִ֑יךָ | tzivitikha | I have commanded you | H6680 → | 494 times |
| חֻקַּ֥י | chukai | statutes my | H2706 → | 127 times |
| וּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖י | umishpatai | and judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃ | tishmor | you will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
וְאַתָּ֞הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
תֵּלֵ֣ךְyou will walk
telekhH1980 →1546 times
לְפָנַ֗י<to> before me
lefanaiH6440 →2123 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
הָלַ֜ךְhe walked
halakhH1980 →1546 times
דָּוִ֤דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אָבִ֙יךָ֙father your
ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times
בְּתָם־in integrity of
betom-H8537 →
לֵבָ֣בheart
levavH3824 →252 times
וּבְיֹ֔שֶׁרand in uprightness
uveyosherH3476 →
לַעֲשׂ֕וֹתby doing
laasotH6213 →2628 times
כְּכֹ֖לaccording to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוִּיתִ֑יךָI have commanded you
tzivitikhaH6680 →494 times
חֻקַּ֥יstatutes my
chukaiH2706 →127 times
וּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖יand judgments my
umishpataiH4941 →422 times
תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃you will keep
tishmorH8104 →468 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 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Luke 1:6
Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
- Philippians 4:13
Through
1 Kings 3:14So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 34:2
And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 3:2
for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.
- 2 Chronicles 34:2
Through
1 Kings 15:5For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 14:8
I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart,…
- 1 Kings 14:8
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.