and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name,
Parallel translations
- WEB if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name;
- KJV And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
- NKJV and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name:
- NASB if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name;
- NLT If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name—
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 envisions exiles returning to God wholeheartedly and praying toward their land and the temple. It calls for full-hearted repentance.
Overview
The petition describes captives turning back to God with all their heart and soul, directing their prayers toward the land, city, and temple. True repentance is whole-hearted and oriented toward God's appointed place of mercy. For believers, that orientation is now toward Christ, in whom God's presence and forgiveness are found.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Dan 6:10Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
- Jer 29:12–14Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Deut 4:29But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- 1 Sam 7:3–4Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
- Jonah 2:4At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’
- Neh 1:9but if you return to Me and keep and practice My commandments, then even if your exiles have been banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’
- Ps 119:145I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD! I will obey Your statutes.
- Prov 23:26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
- Acts 8:36As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
- Isa 55:6–7Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Ps 119:2Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.
- 1 Kgs 8:29–30May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
- Ps 119:10With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
- Dan 9:13Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and giving attention to Your truth.
- Rom 10:10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
- Deut 6:5–6And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
- Jer 24:7I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.
- Jer 3:10Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
- Judg 10:15–16“We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!”
- Hos 14:1–2Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:48 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.