1 Kings 8:57

57 May ADONAI our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us.

1 Kings 8:57 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:57

The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and those that came out of Egypt, and especially that entered into the land of Canaan under Joshua, and subdued it; as the Lord had been with them to guide and direct them, protect and defend them, succeed and prosper them, so Solomon desires he might be with them: nothing is more desirable than the presence of God; Solomon could not have prayed for a greater blessing for himself and his people; the Targum is,

``let the Word of the Lord our God be for our help, as he was for the help of our fathers:''

let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
this was no doubt a prayer of faith, founded upon a divine promise, ( Joshua 1:5 ) .

1 Kings 8:57 In-Context

55 stood up, and raised his voice to bless the whole community of Isra'el. He said,

56 "Blessed be ADONAI, who has given rest to his people Isra'el, in accordance with everything he promised. Not one word has failed of his good promise, which he made through Moshe his servant.

57 May ADONAI our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us.

58 In this way he will incline our hearts toward him, so that we will live according to his ways and observe his mitzvot, laws and rulings which he ordered our fathers to obey.

59 May these words of mine, which I have used in my plea before ADONAI, be present with ADONAI our God day and night, so that he will uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Isra'el day by day.