1 Kings 8:9 (GNV)

Passage

Nothing was in the Arke saue the two tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a couenant with the children of Israel, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:7 For ye Cherubims stretched out their wings ouer the place of the Arke, and the Cherubims couered the Arke, and the barres thereof aboue.

1 Kings 8:8 And they drewe out the barres, that the endes of the barres might appeare out of the Sanctuarie before the oracle, but they were not seene without: and there they are vnto this day.

1 Kings 8:9 Nothing was in the Arke saue the two tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a couenant with the children of Israel, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

1 Kings 8:10 And when the Priestes were come out of the Sanctuarie, the cloude filled the house of the Lord,

1 Kings 8:11 So that the Priestes could not stande to minister, because of the cloude: for the glorie of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nothing", "arke", "saue", "tables", "stone", "moses", "horeb", and "where". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nothing" and "arke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And they drewe out the barres that..." into verse 10's "And when the Priestes were come out...", so "nothing" and "arke" 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 "nothing" and "arke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.