1 Kings 8:59 (GNV)

Passage

And these my wordes, which I haue prayed before the Lord, be neere vnto the Lord our God day and night, that he defende the cause of his seruant, and the cause of his people Israel alway as the matter requireth,

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:57 The Lord our God be with vs, as he was with our fathers, that he forsake vs not, neither leaue vs,

1 Kings 8:58 That he may bow our heartes vnto him, that we may walke in all his waies, and keepe his commandements, and his statutes, and his lawes, which he commanded our fathers.

1 Kings 8:59 And these my wordes, which I haue prayed before the Lord, be neere vnto the Lord our God day and night, that he defende the cause of his seruant, and the cause of his people Israel alway as the matter requireth,

1 Kings 8:60 That all the people of ye earth may knowe, that the Lord is God, and none other.

1 Kings 8:61 Let your heart therefore be perfit with the Lord our God to walke in his statutes, and to keepe his commandements, as this day.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wordes", "haue", "prayed", "before", "lord", "neere", and "vnto". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wordes" and "haue", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 58's "That he may bow our heartes vnto..." into verse 60's "That all the people of ye earth...", so "wordes" and "haue" 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 "wordes" and "haue" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.