New International Version
1 Chronicles 28:9
9“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
1 Chronicles 28:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
Context of 1 Chronicles 28:9
7I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.’ 8“So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever. “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” 11Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement.
Read all of 1 Chronicles 281 Chronicles 28:9 word by word
וְאַתָּ֣ה שְׁלֹמֹֽה־בְנִ֡י דַּע֩ אֶת־אֱלֹהֵ֨י אָבִ֜יךָ וְעָבְדֵ֗הוּ בְּלֵ֤ב שָׁלֵם֙ וּבְנֶ֣פֶשׁ חֲפֵצָ֔ה כִּ֤י כָל־לְבָבוֹת֙ דּוֹרֵ֣שׁ יְהוָ֔ה וְכָל־יֵ֥צֶר מַחֲשָׁב֖וֹת מֵבִ֑ין אִֽם־תִּדְרְשֶׁ֙נּוּ֙ יִמָּ֣צֵא לָ֔ךְ וְאִם־תַּֽעַזְבֶ֖נּוּ יַזְנִיחֲךָ֥ לָעַֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou, Solomonשְׁלֹמֹהshelômôh · SolomonH8010
- my sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- thou the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of thy fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- and serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
- him with a perfectשָׁלֵםshâlêm · completeH8003
- heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- and with a willingחָפֵץchâphêts · delightingH2655
- mindנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
- for the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- searchethדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- all heartsלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- and understandethבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
- all the imaginationsיֵ֫צֶרyêtser · intentionH3336
- of the thoughtsמַחֲשָׁבָהmachăshâbâh machăshebeth · plotH4284
- him, he will be foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- of thee; but if thou forsakeעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- him, he will cast thee offזָנַחzânach · to rejectH2186
- for everעַד‛ad · perpetuityH5703
Cross-references for 1 Chronicles 28:9
- Deuteronomy 4:35You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.
- 1 Kings 8:43then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
- Psalms 9:10Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
- Jeremiah 9:24but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 22:16He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 24:7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
- Jeremiah 31:34No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
- Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
- John 8:55Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.
- John 17:3Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
- Acts 17:23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
- Romans 1:28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.
- 1 Corinthians 15:34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
- 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
- Genesis 28:13There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
- Exodus 3:16“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
Commentaries on 1 Chronicles 28:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Know thou the God of thy father - “Knowing God,” in the sense of having a religious trust in Him, is an unusual phrase in the earlier Scriptures. It scarcely occurs elsewhere in the historical books. David, however, uses the phrase in his Psalms Psalm 36:10; and its occurrence here may be accepted as evidence that the entire speech is recorded in the actual words of the monarch.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10David's message to Solomon focused on the responsibilities of becoming king, not the privileges. Solomon's main duty was to seek, worship, and serve the Lord. The Lord also demanded a strong commitment to building the temple sanctuary.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-109-10. And thou, Solomon my son--The royal speaker now turns to Solomon, and in a most impressive manner presses upon him the importance of sincere and practical piety. know thou--He did not mean head knowledge, for Solomon possessed that already, but that experimental acquaintance with God which is only to be obtained by loving and serving Him.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Chronicles 28:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Chronicles 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries