1 Kings 3:7-13

3:7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. ¹  3:8 Your servant stands ²  among your chosen people; ³  they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 3:9 So give your servant a discerning mind ⁴  so he can make judicial decisions for ⁵  your people and distinguish right from wrong. ⁶  Otherwise ⁷  no one is able ⁸  to make judicial decisions for ⁹  this great nation of yours.” ¹⁰  3:10 The Lord ¹¹  was pleased that Solomon made this request. ¹²  3:11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, ¹³  3:12 I ¹⁴  grant your request, ¹⁵  and give ¹⁶  you a wise and discerning mind ¹⁷  superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. ¹⁸  3:13 Furthermore, I am giving ¹⁹  you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation. ²⁰ 

Job 22:27-28

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him. ²¹ 

22:28 Whatever you decide ²²  on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

Psalms 21:4

21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, ²³ 

and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. ²⁴ 

Psalms 65:2

65:2 You hear prayers; ²⁵ 

all people approach you. ²⁶ 

Psalms 66:19-20

66:19 However, God heard;

he listened to my prayer.

66:20 God deserves praise, ²⁷ 

for ²⁸  he did not reject my prayer

or abandon his love for me! ²⁹ 

Psalms 116:1-2

Psalm 116 ³⁰ 

116:1 I love the Lord

because he heard my plea for mercy, ³¹ 

116:2 and listened to me. ³² 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ³³ 

Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ³⁴  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ³⁵  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ³⁶  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 7:9 Is ³⁷  there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ³⁸  7:11 If you then, although you are evil, ³⁹  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts ⁴⁰  to those who ask him!

Ephesians 3:20

3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us ⁴¹  is able to do far beyond ⁴²  all that we ask or think,

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”

[3:8]  ² tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:8]  ³ tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “to judge.”

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “to judge.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your numerous people.”

[3:10]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:10]  ¹² tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”

[3:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.”

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.

[3:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).

[3:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”

[3:13]  ¹⁹ tn The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made.

[3:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days.” The LXX lacks the words “all your days.”

[22:27]  ²¹ tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[22:28]  ²² tn The word is גָּזַר (gazar, “to cut”), in the sense of deciding a matter.

[21:4]  ²³ tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”

[21:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.

[65:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “O one who hears prayer.”

[65:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to you all flesh comes.”

[66:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[66:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (’asher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.

[66:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer and his loyal love with me.”

[116:1]  ³⁰ sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.

[116:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “I love because the Lord heard my voice, my pleas.” It is possible that “the Lord” originally appeared directly after “I love” and was later accidentally misplaced. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls that God heard his cry for help (note the perfect in v. 2a and the narrative in vv. 3-4).

[116:2]  ³² tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ³³ tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[7:7]  ³⁴ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[7:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation here and in v. 8 for clarity.

[7:8]  ³⁶ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 7 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[7:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Or is there.”

[7:10]  ³⁸ sn The two questions of vv. 9-10 expect the answer, “No parent would do this!”

[7:11]  ³⁹ tn The participle ὄντες (ontes) has been translated concessively.

[7:11]  ⁴⁰ sn The provision of the good gifts is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. The teaching as a whole stresses not that we get everything we want, but that God gives the good that we need.

[3:20]  ⁴¹ sn On the power that is working within us see 1:19-20.

[3:20]  ⁴² tn Or “infinitely beyond,” “far more abundantly than.”