1 Kings 8:52 (ASV)

Passage

that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:50 and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

1 Kings 8:51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron);

1 Kings 8:52 that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee.

1 Kings 8:53 For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.

1 Kings 8:54 And it was so, that, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 51's "for they are thy people and thine..." into verse 53's "For thou didst separate them from among...", so "thine" and "eyes" 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 "thine" and "eyes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.