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:
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:
- BSB 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,
- 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 6:10When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before.
- Jer 29:12–14You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
- Deut 4:29But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- 1 Sam 7:3–4Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to Yahweh, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
- Jonah 2:4I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
- Neh 1:9but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.’
- Ps 119:145I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.
- Prov 23:26My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.
- Acts 8:36As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”
- Isa 55:6–7Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near.
- Ps 119:2Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart.
- 1 Kgs 8:29–30that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there;’ to listen to the prayer which your servant prays toward this place.
- Ps 119:10With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments.
- Dan 9:13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Yahweh our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in your truth.
- Rom 10:10For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
- Deut 6:5–6You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
- Jer 24:7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
- Jer 3:10Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense,” says Yahweh.
- Judg 10:15–16The children of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned! Do you to us whatever seems good to you; only deliver us, please, today.”
- Hos 14:1–2Israel, return to Yahweh your God; for you have fallen because of your sin.
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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
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