1 Chronicles 29:15 (ASV)

Passage

For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no 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 all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.

1 Chronicles 29:16 O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh of thy 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 my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, that are present here, 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 Jehovah 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.