1 Kings 8:59 (ASV)

Passage

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;

Nearby Context

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.

1 Kings 8:61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "words", "wherewith", "supplication", "before", "jehovah", "nigh", and "night". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "words" and "wherewith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 58's "that he may incline our hearts unto..." into verse 60's "that all the peoples of the earth...", so "words" and "wherewith" 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 "words" and "wherewith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.