1 Kings 8:16 (LSB)

Passage

‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, but I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:14 Then the king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

1 Kings 8:15 And he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying,

1 Kings 8:16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, but I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

1 Kings 8:17 And it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

1 Kings 8:18 But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "since", "brought", "people", "israel", "egypt", "choose", "city", and "tribes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "since" and "brought", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And he said Blessed be Yahweh the..." into verse 17's "And it was in the heart of...", so "since" and "brought" 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 "since" and "brought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.