TRV
Translation
King James Version
Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
KJV (with Strong's)
Complete Jewish Bible
"Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra'el -when he comes from a distant country because of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house;
Berean Standard Bible
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your great name and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
American Standard Version
Moreover concerning the foreigner, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thine outstretched arm; when they shall come and pray toward this house:
World English Bible Messianic
“Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for your great name’s sake, and your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm; when they shall come and pray toward this house:
Geneva Bible (1599)
Moreouer, as touching ye stranger which is not of thy people Israel, who shall come out of a farre countrey for thy great Names sake, and thy mighty hande, and thy stretched out arme: when they shall come and pray in this house,
Young's Literal Translation
`And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and he hath come from a land afar off for the sake of Thy great name, and Thy strong hand, and Thy stretched-out arm, and they have come in and prayed towards this house:
In the KJVVerse 11,315 of 31,102
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Commentary on 2 Chronicles 6 verses 12–42
12 ¶ And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,
14 And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
16 Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
17 Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.
21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;
25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
31 That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
33 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.
34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
37 Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
42 O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
Solomon had, in the foregoing verses, signed and sealed, as it were, the deed of dedication, by which the temple was appropriated to the honour and service of God. Now here he prays the consecration-prayer, by which it was made a figure of Christ, the great Mediator, through whom we are to offer all our prayers, and to expect all God's favours, and to whom we are to have an eye in every thing where we have to do with God. We have opened the particulars of this prayer (1 Kings 8) and therefore shall now only glean up some few passages in it which may be the proper subjects of our meditation.
I. Here are some doctrinal truths occasionally laid down. As, 1. That the God of Israel is a being of incomparable perfection. We cannot describe him; but this we know, there is none like him in heaven or in earth, Ch2 6:14. All the creatures have their fellow-creatures, but the Creator has not his peer. He is infinitely above all, and over all, God blessed for ever. 2. That he is, and will be, true to every word that he has spoken; and all that serve him in sincerity shall certainly find him both faithful and kind. Those that set God always before them, and walk before him with all their hearts, shall find him as good as his word and better; he will both keep covenant with them and show mercy to them, Ch2 6:14. 3. That he is a being infinite and immense, whom the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain, and to whose felicity nothing is added by the utmost we can do in his service, Ch2 6:18. He is infinitely beyond the bounds of the creation and infinitely above the praises of all intelligent creatures. 4. That he, and he only, knows the hearts of the children of men, Ch2 6:30. All men's thoughts, aims, and affections, are naked and open before him; and, however the imaginations and intents of our hearts may be concealed from men, angels, and devils, they cannot be hidden from God, who knows not only what is in the heart, but the heart itself and all the beatings of it. 5. That there is no such thing as a sinless perfection to be found in this life (Ch2 6:36): There is no man who sinneth not; nay, who doeth good and sinneth not; so he writes, agreeable to what he here says, Ecc 7:20.
II. Here are some suppositions or cases put which are to be taken notice of. 1. He supposed that if doubts and controversies arose between man and man both sides would agree to appeal to God, and lay an oath upon the person whose testimony must decide the matter, Ch2 6:22. The religious reverence of an oath, as it was ancient, so, it may be presumed, it will continue as long as there are any remains of conscience and right reason among men. 2. He supposed that, though Israel enjoyed a profound peace and tranquillity, yet troublesome times would come. He did not think the mountain of their prosperity stood so strong but that it might be moved; nay, he expected sin would move it. 3. He supposed that those who had not called upon God at other times, yet, in their affliction, would seek him early and earnestly. "When they are in distress they will confess their sins, and confess thy name, and make supplication to thee." Trouble will drive those to God who have said to him, Depart, Ch2 6:24, Ch2 6:26, Ch2 6:28. 4. He supposed that strangers would come from afar to worship the God of Israel and to pay homage to him; and this also might reasonably be expected, considering what worthless things the gods of the nations were, and what proofs the God of Israel had given of his being Lord of the whole earth.
III. Here are petitions very pertinent. 1. That God would own this house, and have an eye to it, as the place of which he had said that he would put his name there, Ch2 6:20. He could not, in faith, have asked God to show such peculiar favour to this house above any other if he himself had not said that it should be his rest for ever. The prayer that will speed must be warranted by the word. We may with humble confidence pray to God to be well pleased with us in Jesus Christ, because he had declared himself well pleased in him - This is my beloved Son; but he says not now of any house, "This is my beloved place." 2. That God would hear and accept the prayers which should be made in or towards that place, Ch2 6:21. He asked not that God should help them whether they prayed for themselves or no, but that God would help them in answer to their prayers. Even Christ's intercessions do not supersede but encourage our supplications. He prayed that God would hear from his dwelling-place, even from heaven. Heaven in his dwelling-place still, not this temple; and thence help must come. When thou hearest forgive. Note, The forgiveness of our sins is that which makes way for all the other answers to our prayers, Removendo prohibens - The evil which it drives away it keeps away. 3. That God would give judgment according to equity upon all the appeals that should be made to him, Ch2 6:23, Ch2 6:30. This we may, in faith, pray for, for we are sure it shall be done. God sitteth on the throne judging right. 4. That God would return in mercy to his people when they repented, and reformed, and sought unto him, Ch2 6:25, Ch2 6:27, Ch2 6:38, Ch2 6:39. This we also may, in faith, pray for, building upon the repeated declarations God has made of his readiness to accepts penitents. 5. That God would bid the strangers welcome to this house, and answer their prayers (Ch2 6:33); for, if there be in duty, why should there not be in privilege one law for the stranger and for one born in the land? Lev 24:22. 6. That God would, upon all occasions, own and plead the cause of his people Israel, against all the opposers of it (Ch2 6:35): Maintain their cause; and again, Ch2 6:39. If they be the Israel of God, their cause is the cause of God, and he would espouse it. 7. He concludes this prayer with some expressions which he had learned of his good father, and borrowed from one of his psalms. We had then not in the Kings, but here we have them, Ch2 6:41, Ch2 6:42. The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; and how can we express ourselves in better language to God than that of his own Spirit? But these words were of use, in a special manner, to direct Solomon, because they had reference to this very work that he was now doing. We have them, Psa 132:8-10. He prayer (Ch2 6:41), (1.) That God would take possession of the temple, and keep possession, that he would make it his resting-place: Thou and the ark; what will the ark do without the God of the ark-ordinances without the God of the ordinances? (2.) That he would make the ministers of the temple public blessings: Clothe them with salvation, that is, not only save them, but make them instrumental to save others, by offering the sacrifices of righteousness. (3.) That the service of the temple might turn abundantly to the joy and satisfaction of all the Lord's people: Let thy saints rejoice in goodness, that is, in the goodness of thy house, Psa 65:4. "Let all that come hither to worship, like the eunuch, go away rejoicing." He pleads two things, Ch2 6:42. [1.] His own relation to God: "Turn not away the face of thy anointed. Lord, thou hast appointed me to be king, and wilt not thou own me?" [2.] God's covenant with his father: Remember thy mercies of David thy servant - the piety of David towards God (so some understand it and so the word sometimes signifies), his pious care of the ark, and concern for it (see Psa 132:1, Psa 132:2, etc.), or the promises of God to David, which were mercies to him, his great support and comforts in all his troubles. We may plead, as Solomon does here, with an eye to Christ: - "We deserve that God should turn away our face, that he should reject us and our prayers; but we come in the name of the Lord Jesus, thy anointed, thy Messiah (so the word is), thy Christ, so the lxx. Him thou hearest always, and wilt never turn away his face. We have no righteousness of our own to plead, but, Lord, remember the mercies of David thy servant." Christ is God's servant (Isa 42:1), and is called David, Hos 3:5. "Lord, remember his mercies, and accept us on the account of them. Remember his tender concern for his Father's honour and man's salvation, and what he did and suffered from that principle. Remember the promises of the everlasting covenant, which free grace has made to us in Christ, and which are called the sure mercies of David," Isa 55:3 and Act 13:34. This must be all our desire and all our hope, all our prayer and all our plea; for it is all our salvation.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 12–42. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
King Solomon's dedicatory prayer for the newly completed Temple in Jerusalem, specifically in 2 Chronicles 6:32, offers a profound glimpse into God's universal redemptive heart, extending the Temple's purpose and divine mercy beyond the confines of the Israelite nation. This remarkable verse anticipates a future when non-Israelites from distant lands, drawn by God's renowned character and mighty acts, would come to the Temple to pray. It underscores a foundational biblical truth: God's desire for all peoples to acknowledge and seek Him, even at a time when Israel held a unique covenantal position, revealing an inclusive vision for worship that transcends ethnic boundaries.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Solomon's prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:32 employs several significant literary devices. The most prominent is Inclusivity, as the prayer deliberately broadens the scope of divine favor and the Temple's function to encompass non-Israelites, challenging the typical ethnocentric boundaries of ancient worship and demonstrating God's universal heart. This reveals a remarkable Anticipation or Foreshadowing of God's global redemptive plan, looking beyond Israel's immediate covenant to a future where all nations would seek Him. The phrase "mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm" is a classic example of Merism, where two complementary parts (hand and arm) are used to represent a complete whole—in this case, the totality and irresistible nature of God's power and active intervention. Furthermore, there is an implied Parallelism between the scenarios for Israel's prayers and the stranger's prayer, suggesting that God's attentiveness and response would be equally available to both, based on the sincerity of their seeking and the unchanging nature of His character.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse is a profound theological statement, revealing God's character as inherently universal in His redemptive purposes, even when working through a particular chosen people. It challenges any narrow, exclusive view of God, affirming that His renown and power are meant to extend to "far countries," drawing people from all backgrounds to Himself. The Temple, though built by Israel, is envisioned not merely as a national shrine but as a beacon for humanity, a place where the one true God could be encountered by anyone who came in sincerity. This prophetic foresight lays the groundwork for understanding God's ultimate plan to gather a people for Himself from every tribe, tongue, and nation, demonstrating a consistent divine heart for all humanity that spans both Old and New Testaments.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
2 Chronicles 6:32 holds profound and enduring relevance for believers today, serving as a powerful reminder of God's expansive heart for all humanity. Just as Solomon envisioned the Temple as a place where "strangers" would come to pray, the Church, as the spiritual "house of prayer" in the New Covenant era, is called to embody this same welcoming spirit. This verse challenges us to move beyond any insular or exclusive mindset, compelling us to embrace God's global mission and to actively cultivate environments where those outside the faith—the "strangers" in our contemporary context—feel genuinely welcomed to seek God, to learn about His "great name," and to encounter His transformative power. Our ministries, worship spaces, and personal interactions should reflect this divine hospitality, demonstrating that God hears the sincere prayers of anyone who approaches Him in faith, regardless of their background, ethnicity, or past. It calls us to pray fervently for the lost and unreached, that they too might be drawn by the fame of God's character and mighty acts, and to participate actively in sharing the good news that brings all people into His presence.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was Solomon's prayer for strangers unique in Israelite history?
Answer: While Solomon's prayer is remarkably explicit and expansive in its inclusion of foreigners, the underlying principle of God's universal concern was not entirely unique. It finds roots in the Abrahamic covenant, where God promised that through Abraham, "all peoples on earth will be blessed" Genesis 12:3. Throughout Israel's history, there were instances of foreigners being drawn to YHWH, such as Rahab Joshua 2:9-11, Ruth Ruth 1:16, and Naaman the Syrian 2 Kings 5:15. Prophets like Isaiah later explicitly foretold a future where the Temple would be a "house of prayer for all peoples" Isaiah 56:7, and nations would stream to Jerusalem to learn God's ways Isaiah 2:2-4. Solomon's prayer, therefore, represents a profound and early articulation of a truth that was woven into the fabric of God's covenant purposes, even if often overshadowed by Israel's focus on its own distinctiveness.
How does the Temple's role for strangers relate to the New Testament Church?
Answer: The Temple in Jerusalem, as envisioned by Solomon, served as a physical symbol of God's presence and a designated place for prayer and reconciliation. In the New Testament, this physical reality finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ and, by extension, in the Church, His body. Jesus declared Himself to be greater than the Temple Matthew 12:6 and prophesied its destruction, indicating a shift from a localized, physical sanctuary to a spiritual reality. Through Christ's atoning sacrifice, the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile has been broken down Ephesians 2:14, making access to God possible for all people, regardless of their background, through faith in Him. The Church, composed of believers from every nation, is now the living Temple of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 3:16, a spiritual house where all who believe can draw near to God in prayer and worship. Thus, the Church carries forward the Temple's universal mission, being called to make disciples of "all nations" Matthew 28:19, welcoming "strangers" into the family of God through the gospel.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Solomon's prayer for the stranger in 2 Chronicles 6:32 finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who perfectly embodies and expands upon the universal heart of God. The Temple, for all its magnificence and Solomon's profound vision, was but a shadow of the true sanctuary. Jesus declared, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," speaking of the temple of His body John 2:19-21. He is the ultimate "house of prayer" through whom all humanity, Jew and Gentile alike, can draw near to God. His atoning sacrifice on the cross broke down the dividing wall of hostility that separated peoples and alienated humanity from God Ephesians 2:14-16, making access to the Father possible for "strangers" from every nation. The "great name" of God, which drew foreigners to the Temple, is fully revealed in the person and work of Jesus, the name above every name Philippians 2:9-11. Furthermore, the "mighty hand" and "stretched out arm" of God, once seen in the Exodus, are supremely manifested in Christ's resurrection and ascension, by which He conquered sin and death and established His eternal kingdom. It is through the Great Commission, given by the resurrected Christ, that His followers are sent to make disciples of "all nations," ensuring that the prayer for the stranger is answered globally, bringing people from every tribe and tongue into the one family of God, united in worship before the Lamb Revelation 7:9-10.