1 Kings 8:1 bbe — Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of…

1 Kings 8:1 in the Bible in Basic English reads: “Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.”

1 Kings 8:1 is found in the Old Testament, in the book of 1 Kings, chapter 8, verse 1.

1 Kings is traditionally attributed to Anonymous (traditionally Jeremiah). It was written c. 561–538 BC.

1 Kings tells of Solomon's wisdom and the building of the temple, then the painful division of the kingdom after his death. The northern kingdom plunges into idolatry under a series of wicked kings until the prophet Elijah is raised up to call Israel back to the LORD.

1 Kings explores themes including Wisdom, Temple, Divided Kingdom, Idolatry, Prophecy. These themes shape the meaning and context of 1 Kings 8:1.

1 Kings 8:1 is available on GodsGoodBook in the King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), World English Bible (WEB), NET Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Bible, Douay-Rheims Bible, and the Bible in Basic English. Each translation reflects different translation philosophies — use the translation picker on this page to compare them, or browse our full translations directory.

1 Kings 8:1 reads (BBE): “Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.” Read it aloud, break it into short phrases, repeat each phrase three times before adding the next, then put the phrases together. Reading it in multiple translations (above) often helps the meaning settle.