2 Chronicles 6:40
in 2 Chronicles 6Now, my God, may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now, O my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.
KJV
Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 6
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In Kings, a different conclusion takes the place of these verses. The document from which both writers copied contained the full prayer of dedication, which each givcs in a somewhat abbreviated form. 2Ch 6:41 Thy resting place - i. e., the holy of holies. Solomon follows closely the words of David his father, spoken probably when he brought the ark into Jerusalem. See the marginal references. 2Ch 6:42 Turn not away the face of thine anointed - i. e., make him not to hide his face through shame at having his prayers rejected (compare the 1Ki 2:16 note).
This site's exposition
may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive
Chronicles closes the body of the prayer with “may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place”. Kings runs longer at 8:52-53. Barnes notes the difference and holds that both writers drew on a fuller record, each shortening it in its own way.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But here he declares upon what inducements he undertook it, and they are such as not only justify, but magnify, the undertaking. He did it for the glory and honour of God; this was his highest and ultimate end in it. It was for the name of the Lord God of Israel (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אֱלֹהַ֗י | ʾelohai | O God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִֽהְיוּ־ | yihyu- | let them be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeineikha | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| פְּתֻח֔וֹת | petuchot | open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| וְאָזְנֶ֖יךָ | veazeneikha | and ears your | H241 → | 187 times |
| קַשֻּׁב֑וֹת | kashuvot | attentive | H7183 → | |
| לִתְפִלַּ֖ת | litfilat | to [the] prayer of | H8605 → | 72 times |
| הַמָּק֥וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ ס | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
עַתָּ֣הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
אֱלֹהַ֗יO God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
יִֽהְיוּ־let them be
yihyu-H1961 →3559 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙eyes your
ʾeineikhaH5869 →887 times
פְּתֻח֔וֹתopen
petuchotH6605 →144 times
וְאָזְנֶ֖יךָand ears your
veazeneikhaH241 →187 times
קַשֻּׁב֑וֹתattentive
kashuvotH7183 →
לִתְפִלַּ֖תto [the] prayer of
litfilatH8605 →72 times
הַמָּק֥וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ ס<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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
Nehemiah 1:11O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:6
let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 2:8
And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the…
- Nehemiah 1:6
Through
Nehemiah 1:6let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that…
it leads to
- Daniel 9:20
While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and that of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God concerning His holy mountain—
- Daniel 9:4
And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,
- Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Psalms 106:6
We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
- Daniel 9:20
Through
2 Chronicles 7:15Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- 1 Peter 3:12
Through
Psalms 116:2Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.
it leads to
- Psalms 145:18–19
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Psalms 145:18–19
About 2 Chronicles

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
