1 Kings 8:12 (YLT)

Passage

Then said Solomon, `Jehovah hath said to dwell in thick darkness;

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:10 And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the holy <FI>place<Fi> , that the cloud hath filled the house of Jehovah,

1 Kings 8:11 and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

1 Kings 8:12 Then said Solomon, `Jehovah hath said to dwell in thick darkness;

1 Kings 8:13 I have surely built a house of habitation for Thee; a fixed place for Thine abiding to the ages.'

1 Kings 8:14 And the king turneth round his face, and blesseth the whole assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel is standing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "said", "solomon", "jehovah", "hath", "dwell", and "thick". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "and the priests have not been able..." into verse 13's "I have surely built a house of...", so "darkness" and "said" 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 "darkness" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.