1 Kings 8:41 (YLT)

Passage

`And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake--

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:39 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known--Thyself alone--the heart of all the sons of man),

1 Kings 8:40 so that they fear Thee all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

1 Kings 8:41 `And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake--

1 Kings 8:42 (for they hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm) --and he hath come in and prayed towards this house,

1 Kings 8:43 Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stranger", "people", "israel", "hath", "come", "land", "afar", and "name's". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stranger" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 40's "so that they fear Thee all the..." into verse 42's "for they hear of Thy great name...", so "stranger" and "people" 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 "stranger" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.