1 Kings 8:29 (GNV)

Passage

That thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, euen towarde the place whereof thou hast said, My Name shalbe there: that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruant prayeth in this place.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:27 Is it true in deede that God will dwell on the earth? beholde, the heauens, and the heauens of heauens are not able to conteine thee: howe much more vnable is this house that I haue built?

1 Kings 8:28 But haue thou respect vnto the prayer of thy seruant, and to his supplication, O Lord, my God, to heare the cry and prayer which thy seruant prayeth before thee this day:

1 Kings 8:29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, euen towarde the place whereof thou hast said, My Name shalbe there: that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruant prayeth in this place.

1 Kings 8:30 Heare thou therefore the supplication of thy seruant, and of thy people Israel, which pray in this place, and heare thou in the place of thine habitation, euen in heauen, and when thou hearest, haue mercie.

1 Kings 8:31 When a man shall trespasse against his neighbour, and he lay vpon him an othe to cause him to sweare, and the swearer shall come before thine altar in this house,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thine", "eyes", "open", "toward", "house", "night", "euen", and "towarde". 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 28's "But haue thou respect vnto the prayer..." into verse 30's "Heare thou therefore the supplication of thy...", 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.