1 Kings 11:38

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

It shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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חֻקּוֹתַי֙

chuqqâh

H2708

“statutes · my”

Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular

Appears 105× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 26:5

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H2706

TWOT: 728b

statute, ordinance, limit, enactment, something prescribed - statute

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

32: words
23: distinct lemmas
Historical: section

Grammatical profile

12 verbs
10 nouns
1 adjective
3 prepositions
1 conjunction
5 particles

Verb forms

וְהָיָ֗ה Qal · Sequential Perfect
תִּשְׁמַע֮ Qal · Imperfect
אֲצַוֶּךָ֒ Piel · Imperfect
וְהָלַכְתָּ֣ Qal · Sequential Perfect
וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ Qal · Sequential Perfect
לִשְׁמ֤וֹר Qal · Infinitive Construct
עָשָׂ֖ה Qal · Perfect
וְהָיִ֣יתִי Qal · Sequential Perfect
וּבָנִ֨יתִי Qal · Sequential Perfect
נֶאֱמָן֙ Niphal · Participle Active
בָּנִ֣יתִי Qal · Perfect
וְנָתַתִּ֥י Qal · Sequential Perfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

וְהָיָ֗ה to be H1961 ×2
וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ to do H6213 ×2
דָּוִ֣ד David H1732 ×2
וּבָנִ֨יתִי to build H1129 ×2
אֲשֶׁ֣ר which H834 ×3

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 64 words from the Hebrew and 62 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 32 Hebrew tokens and 49 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to 1 Kings 11:38 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

2 Samuel 7:11 and [as] from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Moreover Yahweh tells you that Yahweh will make you a house.
Joshua 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you, nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:8 Yahweh, he it is who does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
Deuteronomy 15:5 if only you diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you this day.
2 Samuel 7:16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before you: your throne shall be established forever.
1 Kings 3:14 If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days.
1 Kings 6:12 Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.

1 Kings 9:4–5 As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances;
1 Kings 14:7–14 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel,
1 Chronicles 17:10 and [as] from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover I tell you that Yahweh will build you a house.
1 Chronicles 17:24–27 Let your name be established and magnified forever, saying, Yahweh of Hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David your servant is established before you.
Zechariah 3:7 "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these who stand by.
2 Samuel 7:26–29 Let your name be magnified forever, saying, Yahweh of hosts is God over Israel; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew 1 Kings 11:38 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְהָיָ֗ה אִם תִּשְׁמַע֮ אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲצַוֶּךָ֒ וְהָלַכְתָּ֣ בִדְרָכַ֗י וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ הַיָּשָׁ֤ר בְּעֵינַי֙ לִשְׁמ֤וֹר חֻקּוֹתַי֙ וּמִצְוֺתַ֔י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה דָּוִ֣ד עַבְדִּ֑י וְהָיִ֣יתִי עִמָּ֗ךְ וּבָנִ֨יתִי לְךָ֤ בַֽיִת נֶאֱמָן֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּנִ֣יתִי לְדָוִ֔ד וְנָתַתִּ֥י לְךָ֖ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

It shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 1 Kings 11:38 Septuagint · lemma form

καί εἰμί ἐάν φυλάσσω πᾶς ὅσος ἄν ἐντέλλομαι σύ καί πορεύομαι ἐν ὁ ὁδός ἐγώ καί ποιέω ὁ εὐθής ἐνώπιον ἐγώ ὁ φυλάσσω ὁ ἐντολή ἐγώ καί ὁ πρόσταγμα ἐγώ καθώς ποιέω δαυίδ ὁ δοῦλος ἐγώ καί εἰμί μετά σύ καί οἰκοδομέω σύ οἶκος πιστός καθώς οἰκοδομέω ὁ δαυίδ

And it shall come to pass, if you will keep all the commandments that I shall give you, and will walk in my ways, and do that which is right before me, to keep my ordinances and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built to David.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Jonathan Prophets (Joshua–Malachi)

וִיהֵי אִם תְקַבֵּיל לְמֵימְרִי יַת כָּל דַאֲפַקְדִינָךְ וּתְהַךְ בְּכָל אוֹרְחַן דְתַקְנָן קֳדָמַי וְתַעֲבֵּיד דְכָשַׁר בְּעֵינַי לְמִטַר קְיָמַי וּפִקוּדַי כְּמָא דַעֲבַד דָוִד עַבְדִי וִיהֵי מֵימְרִי בְּסַעֲדָךְ וַאֲקַיֵם לָךְ מַלְכוּ קַיָמָא כְּמָא דְקַיֵמִית לְדָוִד וְאֶתֵּן לָךְ יַת יִשְׂרָאֵל:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Jonathan — Aramaic: “Mikraot Gedolot” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on 1 Kings 11:38 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

1Ki 11:38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do [that is] right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

Ver. 38. If thou wilt hearken.] Here were fair premonitions and promises to this foul sinner; but all was worse than spilt upon him, save that for this he was the more severely punished.

And build thee a sure house.] Such impious princes as build upon mines of gunpowder are soon blown up by the roots, as Shallum, {Jer 22:11} Zimri, Caesar Borgia., &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joseph Benson's Commentary

1Ki 11:38. If thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, &c. — He is hereby given to understand, that the grant of the crown to him and his descendants will be conditional, and that he and they will be upon their good behaviour.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

11:38 an enduring dynasty: Jeroboam had a great opportunity. God promised that if he was faithful and obedient to the Lord, his kingdom would be strong and long-lasting. However, he departed from God (12:25-33; 14:10-18) and set Israel on a destructive spiritual path (2 Kgs 17:21-23).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 38. And build thee a sure house] He would have continued his posterity on the throne of Israel, had he not by his wickedness forfeited the promises of God, and thrown himself out of the protection of the Most High.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

38. And it shall be &c.] The condition on which Jeroboam is set up is the same as that laid down for the family of David. As in their case transgression involved a downfall.

and will give Israel unto thee] These words and the whole of 1Ki_11:39 are omitted in the LXX.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? Either written by himself, as Kimchi suggests, though not in being; or by some chronologer or historiographer employed by him in writing the most memorable things that happened in his reign; or by several prophets, as in Ch2 9:29 out of which the inspired writer of this book took what he was directed to by the Lord to be transmitted to future ages.

out of which the inspired writer of this book took what he was directed to by the Lord to be transmitted to future ages.

1 Kings 11:42

kg1 11:42

kg1 11:42

kg1 11:42And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all Israel, was forty years. The same says Eupolemus (z), an Heathen writer, who makes him to live but fifty two years; which is the common tradition of the Jews, who suppose he was but twelve years of age when he began to reign; which is to be confuted from the age of his son Rehoboam, see Kg1 14:21. Josephus (a), on the other hand, makes him to live to too great an age, who says that he reigned eighty years, and lived to ninety four.

(z) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 34. (a) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 7. sect. 8.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal references. To “build a sure house,” or “give a house,” is to give a continuity of offspring, and so secure the perpetuity of a family. The promise, it will be observed, is conditional; and as the condition was not complied with, it did not take effect (see 1Ki 14:8-14). The entire house of Jeroboam was destroyed by Baasha 1Ki 15:29.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Faithful house, which shall not be destroyed, nor lose the kingdom, for a long time. Jeroboam never complied with the condition. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Build thee a sure house, i.e. firmly settle thee and thy posterity in the throne, as this or the like phrase is used, 2Sa 7:16,27; but he doth not say he would do this for ever, as is there said of David’s house 1Ki 11:16.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

38. Build thee a sure house — Perpetuate thy posterity in regal powers.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

And it shall be, if thou writ hearken unto all that I command thee, (cf. 1Ki_3:14 1Ki_6:12 1Ki_9:4) and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee cf. ch. 1:37, note, and build thee a sure house cf. 2Sa_7:11, 2Sa_7:16; i.e., a family, perhaps dynasty. Observe, however, there was no promise to Jeroboam, as there was to David, of an enduring kingdom. It was not God"s design to take away the kingdom from David in perpetuity (ver. 39), as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

1 Kings, in the Historical, opens this verse with 32 words (23 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is chuqqâh (“statute”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word chuqqâh carries the sense “statute.” How does it shape the verse?
2 Samuel 7:11 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
“to be” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
The verb «וְהָיָ֗ה» is Qal Sequential Perfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Joseph Benson's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 32 Hebrew ↔ 49 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 12 words in this verse.
“to be” occurs 2× in this single verse.
23 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 32 words in this verse.