1 Kings 8:34

then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Solomon prays in the newly built temple, petitioning God to respond when Israel is defeated by an enemy due to sin and subsequently returns to Him in confession and prayer. (1 Kings 8:33 establishes this military defeat as the immediate context for the plea.)

The words — The petition hinges on תִּשְׁמַע (tishma, "you will hear") from הַשָּׁמַיִם (hashamayim, "the heavens") and סָלַחְתָּ (salachta, "you will forgive") the חַטָּאת (chatat, "sin") of עַמְּךָ (ammecha, "your people") Israel, followed by הֲשֵׁבֹתָם (heshevtam, "you will bring them back") to the promised land.

The thread — The plea for forgiveness and territorial restoration aligns with the covenant guarantees in Genesis 13:15 and Exodus 6:8, while the structure of urgent intercession parallels Daniel 9:19.

Why it lands — The text presents a conditional pattern where national restoration follows confession, requiring the reader to accept that divine hearing and forgiveness are the sole mechanisms for returning to the land.

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

וְאַתָּה֙ve./'a.Tahand/ you תִּשְׁמַ֣עtish.Ma'you will hear הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha./sha.Ma.yimthe/ heavens וְסָ֣לַחְתָּ֔ve./Sa.lach.taand/ you will forgive לְחַטַּ֖אתle./cha.Tat<to>/ [the] sin of עַמְּךָ֣'a.me./Khapeople/ your יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'ElIsrael וַהֲשֵֽׁבֹתָם֙va./ha.she.vo.Ta/mand/ you will bring back/ them אֶל־'el-to הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔הha./'a.da.Mahthe/ land אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich נָתַ֖תָּna.Ta.tayou gave לַאֲבוֹתָֽם׃ סla./'a.vo.Ta/mto/ ancestors/ their

King James Version

Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

Cross-references

Daniel 9:19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”
Genesis 13:15 for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
Exodus 6:8 And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”
Joshua 21:43 Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
1 Kings 8:30 Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:
Psalms 106:47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.
Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
Jeremiah 31:27 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and of beast.
Jeremiah 32:37 I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety.