1 Kings 8:42 (WEB)

Passage

(for they shall hear of your great name, and of your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house;

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

1 Kings 8:41 “Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he comes out of a far country for your name’s sake

1 Kings 8:42 (for they shall hear of your great name, and of your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house;

1 Kings 8:43 hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.

1 Kings 8:44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to Yahweh toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "hear", "great", "name", "mighty", "hand", "outstretched", and "comes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "hear", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "Moreover concerning the foreigner who is not..." into verse 43's "hear in heaven your dwelling place and...", so "shall" and "hear" 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 "shall" and "hear" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.