The Meaning of 1 Kings 8:38 Explained

1 Kings 8:38

KJV: What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

YLT: any prayer, any supplication that is of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house,

Darby: what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house;

ASV: what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

What prayer  and supplication  soever be [made] by any man,  [or] by all thy people  Israel,  which shall know  every man  the plague  of his own heart,  and spread forth  his hands  toward this house: 

What does 1 Kings 8:38 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 8:33-43 - Appeals To The God Of Mercy
Solomon's prayer is evidently based on the book of Deuteronomy, and tends to confirm the old belief that, with the rest of the Pentateuch, this book came from the hand of Moses. In 2 Chronicles 20:7-9, Jehoshaphat pleaded this prayer as though it were substantially a promise, and therefore all needy souls who find their case described here, may plead it on their own behalf.
Notice how frequently Solomon speaks of prayer, even in the land of captivity and exile, as being-directed toward the Temple, 1 Kings 8:38, etc. It reminds us of the grave need of maintaining unimpaired our spiritual frontage. It has been truly said that the direction of the soul's outlook is the preliminary question in religion. Whether our home looks south or north; whether it faces sunless alleys or sunny fields, is an important physical consideration with us: It is likewise of great importance that the mind or soul should face the right way. The difference between spiritual health and disease is very largely one of the way in which we front. For us, Temple, Altar, and Mercy-Seat are all summed up in Jesus Christ. Our life must be spent looking unto Him, Hebrews 12:2.
1 Kings 8:1-66 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 8

1  The feast of the temple
12  Solomon's blessing
22  Solomon's prayer
54  Solomon's blessing
62  His sacrifice of peace offerings

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 8:38 mean?

Whatever prayer any supplication whatever is made by anyone [or] by all Your people Israel when knows each one the plague of his own heart and spreads out his hands toward temple this
כָּל־ תְּפִלָּ֣ה כָל־ תְּחִנָּ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר תִֽהְיֶה֙ לְכָל־ הָ֣אָדָ֔ם לְכֹ֖ל עַמְּךָ֣ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵדְע֗וּן אִ֚ישׁ נֶ֣גַע לְבָב֔וֹ וּפָרַ֥שׂ כַּפָּ֖יו אֶל־ הַבַּ֥יִת הַזֶּֽה

כָּל־  Whatever 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
תְּפִלָּ֣ה  prayer 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תְּפִלָּה  
Sense: prayer.
כָל־  any 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
תְּחִנָּ֗ה  supplication 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תְּחִנָּה  
Sense: favour, supplication, supplication for favour.
אֲשֶׁ֤ר  whatever 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
תִֽהְיֶה֙  is  made 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הָ֣אָדָ֔ם  anyone 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
לְכֹ֖ל  [or]  by  all 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
עַמְּךָ֣  Your  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יֵדְע֗וּן  knows 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
אִ֚ישׁ  each  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
נֶ֣גַע  the  plague 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נֶגַע  
Sense: stroke, plague, disease, mark, plague spot.
לְבָב֔וֹ  of  his  own  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לֵבָב  
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.
וּפָרַ֥שׂ  and  spreads  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּרַשׂ  
Sense: to spread, spread out, stretch, break in pieces.
כַּפָּ֖יו  his  hands 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person masculine singular
Root: כַּף  
Sense: palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand.
אֶל־  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַבַּ֥יִת  temple 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
הַזֶּֽה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.