1 Chronicles 29:15 (KJV)

Passage

For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

Nearby Context

1 Chronicles 29:13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

1 Chronicles 29:16 O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

1 Chronicles 29:17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "strangers", "before", "thee", "sojourners", "fathers", "days", "earth", and "shadow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "strangers" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "But who am I and what is..." into verse 16's "O LORD our God all this store...", so "strangers" and "before" belong inside that flow. In 1 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "strangers" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.