1 Kings 8:52

May Your eyes be open to the pleas of Your servant and of Your people Israel, and may You listen to them whenever they call to You.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Solomon addresses the Lord at the temple dedication, requesting divine attention toward Israel's prayers. This follows his declaration that Israel remains God's inherited people delivered from Egypt.

The words — The Hebrew phrase עֵינֶיךָ פְתֻחוֹת ('ei.neikha fe.tu.chot) literally renders "your eyes open." It is directly linked to תּחִנּת ('chi.nat), meaning "supplication" or "plea," establishing a grammatical condition for divine response.

The thread — This petition repeats the temple-focused request of 1 Kings 8:29, where Solomon initially asked God's eyes to remain fixed on that location. It parallels Psalms 145:18 and Psalms 86:5 in framing God's nearness as contingent upon those who call on Him.

Why it lands — The text explicitly conditions God's listening on Israel's active calling rather than passive covenant status. It requires the reader to recognize that relational access to God depends on persistent petition, not inherited privilege alone.

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

לִהְי֨וֹתli/h.Yotto/ be עֵינֶ֤יךָ'ei.Nei./khaeyes/ your פְתֻחוֹת֙fe.tu.chOtopen אֶל־'el-to תְּחִנַּ֣תte.chi.Nat[the] supplication of עַבְדְּךָ֔'av.de./Khaservant/ your וְאֶל־ve./'el-and/ to תְּחִנַּ֖תte.chi.Nat[the] supplication of עַמְּךָ֣'a.me./Khapeople/ your יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'ElIsrael לִשְׁמֹ֣עַli/sh.Mo.a'to/ listen אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei./Hemto/ them בְּכֹ֖לbe./Kholin/ all קָרְאָ֥םka.re.'A/mcalling/ they אֵלֶֽיךָ׃'e.Lei./khato/ you

King James Version

That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

Cross-references

Psalms 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
1 Kings 8:29 May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
Psalms 86:5 For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
2 Chronicles 6:40 Now, my God, may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.