1 Kings 8:30 (ASV)

Passage

And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day;

1 Kings 8:29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.

1 Kings 8:30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive.

1 Kings 8:31 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come [and] swear before thine altar in this house;

1 Kings 8:32 then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hearken", "thou", "supplication", "servant", "people", "israel", "shall", and "pray". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hearken" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "that thine eyes may be open toward..." into verse 31's "If a man sin against his neighbor...", so "hearken" and "thou" 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 "hearken" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.