1 Kings 8:58 (ASV)

Passage

that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be Jehovah, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant.

1 Kings 8:57 Jehovah our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us;

1 Kings 8:58 that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

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

1 Kings 8:60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah, he is God; there is none else.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 57's "Jehovah our God be with us as..." into verse 59's "And let these my words wherewith I...", so "incline" and "hearts" 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 "incline" and "hearts" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.