Text -- 1 Kings 9:1-8 (NET)

The Lord Gives Solomon a Promise and a Warning

9:1 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, 9:2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 9:3 The Lord said to him, “I have answered your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; I will be constantly present there. 9:4 You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. 9:5 Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 9:6 “But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods, 9:7 then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations. 9:8 This temple will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:1

¹ tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:2

¹ sn In the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. See 1 Kgs 3:5.

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:3

¹ tn Heb “I have heard.”

² tn Heb “by placing my name there perpetually” (or perhaps, “forever”).

³ tn Heb “and my eyes and my heart will be there all the days.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:4

¹ tn Heb “As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations.” Verse 4 is actually a lengthy protasis (“if” section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis (“then” section) of which appears in v. 5.

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:5

¹ tn Heb “I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever.”

² tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:6

¹ tn Heb “which I placed before you.”

² tn Heb “and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:7

¹ tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”

² tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”

sn Instead of “I will send away,” the parallel text in 2 Chr 7:20 has “I will throw away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.

³ tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.

NET Notes: 1Ki 9:8

¹ tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”

² tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.