1 Kings 8:61 (KJV)

Passage

Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

1 Kings 8:60 That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

1 Kings 8:61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

1 Kings 8:62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.

1 Kings 8:63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heart", "therefore", "perfect", "lord", "walk", "statutes", "keep", and "commandments". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heart" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 60's "That all the people of the earth..." into verse 62's "And the king and all Israel with...", so "heart" and "therefore" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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