1 Kings 5:4

1Ki 5:4 But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, [so that there is] neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

Ver. 4. So that there is neither adversary.] The Vulgate hath it, Non est Satan. We use to say, Seldom lieth the devil dead in a ditch. He is the troublous one, {a} and delighteth to hinder anything that is good; but at this time God had chained him up, and Solomon had nothing to hinder him. "The Lord is with you, whilst ye are with him," saith one prophet. {2Ch 15:2} And, "The Lord will be with the good," saith another. {2Ch 19:11}

{a} ο πονηρος.

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.

5:4-5 Unlike David, Solomon enjoyed peace [literally rest] on every side. Solomon’s name (Hebrew shlomoh) may be a variation of the word for “peace” (Hebrew shalom). • The name of the Lord signifies God’s self-revealed character and reputation. The Hebrew term translated the name was sometimes used in oral reading of Scripture so the reader could avoid uttering the personal name of God (the tetragrammaton—YHWH). The New Testament applies the term “the name” to Jesus (Acts 5:41; 3 Jn 1:7).

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

He declareth that he was bound to set forth God’s glory, forasmuch as the Lord had sent him rest and peace.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 4. There is neither adversary] אין שטן eyn satan, there is no satan-no opposer, nor any kind of evil; all is peace and quiet, both without and within. God has given me this quiet that I may build his temple. Deus nobis haec otia fecit.

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

4. rest on every side] Cf. above 1Ki_4:24.

evil occurrent] ‘Occurrent’ is the old English form of the noun for which we now use ‘occurrence.’ Cf. Bacon Henry 7. (Pitt Press Series) p. 68. ‘He paid the king large tribute of his gratitude in diligent advertisement of the occurrents of Italy.’ Probably the A.V. rendering is due to the Vulgate, which has occursus malus.

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.

But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side,.... From foreign enemies; for Solomon had no wars with any:

so that there is neither adversary; or Satan, no internal enemy in his kingdom, as well as no external ones, Adonijah, Joab, and other ill-designing persons, being cut off:

nor evil occurrent; nothing that rose up, and met him, to discourage or hinder the prosecution of the good work he had in view.

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

The contrast is not between different periods of Solomon’s reign, but between his reign and that of his father.

Evil occurrent - Rather, evil occurrence.

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

Adversary. Literally, "Satan." Adad of Idumea, and another of Syria, and Jeroboam, began to molest Solomon, only towards the end of his reign, chap. xi. 25.

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).

4. Neither adversary nor evil occurrent — No adversary like the Philistines or Moabites, who were formerly anxious to reduce Israel to a state of subjection; no evil incident like the rebellion of Absalom, or the curse of famine or plague.

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

But now the Lord my God hath given me rest In fulfilment of the promise of 1Ch_22:9. David had had a brief rest, (2Sa_7:1) Solomon"s was permanent. He was "a man of rest" on every side Heb. round about, same word as in ver. 3, and in, 1Ch_22:9 so that there is neither adversary Hadad and Rezon, of whom this word is used, (1Ki_11:14, 1Ki_11:23) apparently belonged to a somewhat later period of his reign nor evil occurrent Rather, "occurrence," or "plague" (gep), i.e., " rebellion, famine, pestilence, or other suffering" (Bahr). David had had many such "occurrences". (2Sa_15:14 2Sa_20:1 2Sa_21:1 2Sa_24:15)

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

General Information:

Solomon continues to talk with King Hiram about building the Temple.

has given me rest on every side

Before Solomon became king, King David and the people of Israel had been at war, but now King Solomon and the people were at rest and in a time of peace.

There is neither adversary nor disaster

neither humans who cause harm nor natural events that cause harm. This can be stated positively. AT: "We are safe from our enemies and from natural disasters" (See: Merism)

adversary

enemy

disaster

event that causes harm to people and their property

So

This is to emphasize the words that follow. "Listen! This is what I am going to do:" or "Because of what Yahweh has done for me, this is what I am going to do:"

for the name of Yahweh my God ... for my name

The word "name" is a metonym for the person. AT: "where Yahweh my God will live ... where I will live" (See: Metonymy)

set on your throne in your place

Here "throne" refers to ruling as king. AT: "make to be the king after you" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

rest

adversary

temple

ancestor

throne

name

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.