Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:35

When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place [ toward, because the inhabitants of the land everywhere would direct their prayers toward the holy oracle in Jerusalem ( Psalms 28:2 ) ] , and confess [ praise ] thy name, and turn from their sin, when [or because, כִי ] thou afflictest them. [ LXX . ὅταν ταπεινώσης αὐτοὺς — Humbling should be the result of affliction.] read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:36

Then hear thou in heaven [see on 1 Kings 8:32 ], and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel that thou teach them [rather, because thou art teaching them, etc . The thought is, "Forgive, because they have learned the lessen Thy discipline of drought was meant to teach;" because the chastisement has fulfilled its purpose] the good way [ 1 Samuel 12:23 ] wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:37

If there be in the land famine [Heb. Famine should there be, etc. The word is emphatic by position. Famine is denounced, Le 26:20, 26; Deuteronomy 28:33 ], if there be pestilence [Le 26:25; Jeremiah 14:12 ; Jeremiah 24:10 ; Amos 4:10 ; Ezekiel 6:12 , etc.], blasting [same word Genesis 41:6 ; Amos 4:9 ; Deuteronomy 28:22 ], mildew [lit. paleness, χλωρότης , Deuteronomy l.c. ], locust, or if there be caterpillar [It is uncertain whether חָסִיל , lit; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:38

What prayer and supplication soever [There is here a studied reference to the preceding words. Lit; every prayer, etc. We might render in 1 Kings 8:37 , "Whatsoever the plague," etc; and here, "Whatsoever the prayer," etc.] be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart [Here again there is an unmistakeable reference to the "plague" (same word) of 1 Kings 8:37 . The plague of the heart is the inner smart of the conscience... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:38

The consecration of the temple was the grandest religious ceremony of the old covenant. It is important— I. BECAUSE IT CENTRALIZES THE WORSHIP OF THE THEOCRACY . II. BECAUSE IT SUPPLIES A TYPE OF THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE which is to be reared in the Church and in every Christian soul. Solomon, as the king chosen of God, represents in this service of consecration the entire theocracy. The temple is essentially a house of prayer, as is manifest from the words... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:38-39

The Praying King. One of the most remarkable features of this scene of the dedication of the temple is the place occupied, the part performed, in it by Solomon himself. He is the central figure, the chief actor. Both priest and prophet give place to him. The dedicatory prayer is a spontaneous effusion of his own devout feeling, and it is he who pronounces afterwards the benediction on the people. He stands before us here as a true type of that greater "Son of David," who is our Prophet,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:39

Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) [ Jeremiah 17:10 . Cf. ὁ παρδιογνώστης θεὸς ( Acts 15:8 ; also ib . Acts 1:24 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 8:40

That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. [Solomon anticipates that a godly fear will be the result of forgiveness and restoration. We find the same thought in Psalms 130:4 . The mercy and goodness of God should lead to repentance, but unhappily it not unseldom fails to do so.] The fifth petition contemplates the prayers which foreigners, attracted by the fame of Jerusalem, of its religion and sanctuary could offer towards the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 8:36

Teach them ... - Rather, “when thou art teaching them (by thy chastisement) the good way that they should walk in,” i. e. when thou art still teaching, not taking vengeance. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 8:37

In the land of their cities - literally, “in the land of their gates.” Hence, the marginal translation “jurisdiction,” because judgments were pronounced in the town gates Deuteronomy 16:18. Another reading gives “in one of their cities.” read more

Group of Brands