Bible Strands
1 Kings 15:5
For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator explains God’s decision to preserve a successor in Jerusalem by citing David’s overall conduct during his reign. The statement functions as a historical rationale within the account of Abijam’s reign.
The words — עָשָׂה הַיָּשָׁר ('a.Sah hai./ya.Shar) translates literally as “he had done the right.” This construction denotes consistent action aligned with divine instruction rather than isolated moral moments.
The thread — The same standard appears in 1 Kings 14:8, where God contrasts David’s record with the failures of other rulers. The stated exception directly references the account in 2 Samuel 11:15 concerning Uriah the Hittite.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept that divine approval can coexist with recorded failure. It establishes obedience as the measure of royal standing while refusing to sanitize historical record.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 14:8 I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes.
- 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”
- 1 Kings 15:3 And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been.
- 2 Chronicles 34:2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
- Psalms 51:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
- 2 Samuel 11:3 So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
- 2 Samuel 12:9 Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
- Psalms 119:6 Then I would not be ashamed when I consider all Your commandments.
- Luke 1:6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Acts 13:22 After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’