Bible Strands
1 Kings 8:58
May He incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances He commanded our fathers.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Solomon addresses the gathered Israelites at the dedication of the first Temple, concluding his consecration prayer by petitioning God for their future covenant faithfulness.
The words — The Hebrew לְהַטּוֹת לְבָבֵנוּ (lehaṭṭōṯ ləḇāḇēnû) literally means "to incline our heart," denoting a deliberate divine action that directs human will toward Himself.
The thread — This petition for heart-inclination toward obedience runs through Psalms 119:36, Ezekiel 36:26, and Jeremiah 31:33, where God's work on human hearts remains central to covenant faithfulness.
Why it lands — The verse demands that readers acknowledge their inability to sustain obedience without divine intervention, requiring them to actively pray for God to direct their will toward His commands.
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
That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
Cross-references
- Psalms 119:36 Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
- Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Hebrews 13:21 equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Deuteronomy 4:1 Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 4:45 These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
- Deuteronomy 6:1 These are the commandments and statutes and ordinances that the LORD your God has instructed me to teach you to follow in the land that you are about to enter and possess,
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.
- Psalms 110:3 Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.