God’s Promise and Warning

(A)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and (B)the king’s house, and (C)all [a]that Solomon desired to do, that (D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him, “(E)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, (F)by putting My name there forever, and (G)My eyes and My heart will be there [b]always. As for you, (H)if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, then (I)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I [c]promised to your father David, saying, ‘[d]You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’

(J)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, (K)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and (L)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will [e]expel from My sight. So (M)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. And this house will become (N)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and [f]hiss and say, ‘(O)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ And they will say, ‘(P)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they [g]adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:1 Lit Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do
  2. 1 Kings 9:3 Lit all the days
  3. 1 Kings 9:5 Lit spoke
  4. 1 Kings 9:5 Lit There shall not be cut off to you a man
  5. 1 Kings 9:7 Lit send
  6. 1 Kings 9:8 Or whistle
  7. 1 Kings 9:9 Lit laid hold of

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