I have indeed built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
- KJV I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
- NKJV I have surely built You an exalted house, And a place for You to dwell in forever.”
- NASB “I have truly built You a lofty house, A place for Your dwelling forever.”
- NLT Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon declares that he has built a permanent house for God to dwell in. It marks the temple as the settled center of God's presence among His people.
Overview
Concluding his words at the temple's dedication, Solomon affirms that the long-promised house is finished, a fixed dwelling replacing the mobile tabernacle. The language of God dwelling 'forever' anticipates a permanence ultimately fulfilled not in a building but in Christ, who is Immanuel, God with us, and in His people as God's temple. Even here, the hope of God dwelling with humanity points beyond stone and cedar.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Sam 7:13He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
- Exod 15:17You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance—the place, O LORD, You have prepared for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established.
- Ps 132:13–14For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Heb 9:24For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
- 1 Chr 17:12He will build a house for Me, and I will establish his throne forever.
- 1 Chr 28:10Consider now that the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
- Heb 9:11–12But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
- 1 Chr 28:20David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.
- Heb 8:5–13The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- 1 Chr 22:10–11He is the one who will build a house for My Name. He will be My son, and I will be his Father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
- John 4:21–23“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 6:2and I have built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”
- 1 Chr 28:6And He said to me, ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him as My son, and I will be his Father.
- Ps 78:68–69But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
- Acts 6:14For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 8:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.