1 Kings 8:61 (ASV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

1 Kings 8:62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before Jehovah.

1 Kings 8:63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto Jehovah, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 60's "that all the peoples of the earth..." into verse 62's "And the king and all Israel with...", so "heart" and "therefore" 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 "heart" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.