1 Kings 8:16 (ASV)

Passage

Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.

1 Kings 8:15 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth unto David thy father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

1 Kings 8:16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

1 Kings 8:17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

1 Kings 8:18 But Jehovah said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "since", "brought", "forth", "people", "israel", "egypt", "chose", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "since" and "brought", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And he said Blessed be Jehovah the..." into verse 17's "Now it was in the heart of...", so "since" and "brought" 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 "since" and "brought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.