Discovery Box1 Kings 8:41-48 
Context8:41 “Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. 1 8:42 When they hear about your great reputation 2 and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds, 3 they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. 8:43 Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. 4 Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, 5 obey 6 you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. 7
8:44 “When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, 8 and they direct their prayers to the Lord 9 toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, 10 8:45 then listen from heaven to their prayers for help 11 and vindicate them. 12
8:46 “The time will come when your people 13 will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, 14 whether far away or close by. 8:47 When your people 15 come to their senses 16 in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, ‘We have sinned and gone astray; 17 we have done evil.’ 8:48 When they return to you with all their heart and being 18 in the land where they are held prisoner, 19 and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, 20
1 tn Heb “your name.” In the OT the word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the
2 tn Heb “your great name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in the previous verse.
3 tn Heb “and your strong hand and your outstretched arm.”
4 tn Heb “and do all which the foreigner calls to [i.e., “requests of”] you.”
5 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
6 tn Heb “fear.”
7 tn Heb “that your name is called over this house which I built.” The Hebrew idiom “to call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
8 tn Heb “When your people go out for battle against their enemies in the way which you send them.”
9 tn Or perhaps “to you, O
10 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
11 tn Heb “their prayer and their request for help.”
12 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
13 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “the land of the enemy.”
15 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Or “stop and reflect”; Heb “bring back to their heart.”
17 tn Or “done wrong.”
18 tn Or “soul.”
19 tn Heb “in the land of their enemies.”
20 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
