When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and plea to the Lord, he stood up from the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven.
Parallel translations
- WEB It was so, that when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to Yahweh, he arose from before Yahweh’s altar, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven.
- KJV And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
- BSB Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
- NKJV And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
- NLT When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven.
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 finishes his prayer and rises from kneeling with hands spread toward heaven. It marks his humble posture in prayer.
Overview
The narrative notes that Solomon had been kneeling, hands outstretched, throughout this long prayer, then rose when he finished. His humble bodily posture matched the reverence of his words. This models prayer that engages the whole person in humility before God, the same humility supremely shown by Christ in Gethsemane.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Chr 6:12–13He stood before Yahweh’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands
- 2 Chr 7:1Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and Yahweh’s glory filled the house.
- Luke 22:45When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief,
- Ps 95:6Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker,
- Luke 11:1When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
- Acts 20:36When he had spoken these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
- Luke 22:41He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed,
- 1 Kgs 8:22Solomon stood before Yahweh’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;
- Acts 21:5When those days were over, we departed and went on our journey. They all, with wives and children, brought us on our way until we were out of the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed.
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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 8:54 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.