1 Chronicles 29:20

And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(20-25) The sacrificial feast and anointing of Solomon.

(20) Now bless.—Bless ye, I pray. The “now” is not a note of time, but of entreaty.

Blessed the Lord God of their fathers.—Probably using a liturgical formula, like the doxologies which close the books of the Psalter (Psalm 41:13; Psalm 72:18-19; Psalm 89:52, &c).

And bowed down their heads.—Or, and bowed. Vulg., inclinaverunt se; LXX. here, κάμψαντες τὰ γόνατα, bending the knees; but usually κνψαντες, stooping, bowing.

Worshipped.—Prostrated themselves. LXX., προσεκύνησαν. The two expressions “bowed and worshipped” are always united, as here (save in 2Chronicles 20:18. Comp. Genesis 24:26; Exodus 12:27). The Syriac renders, “fell down and worshipped.”

And the king.—As God’s earthly representative, David receives the same tokens of reverence and homage. (Comp. 1Kings 1:31.)

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 29:20. David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God — Adore his divine majesty, and give him thanks for all his benefits, hereby testifying your concurrence with me in what I have done and spoken. And all the congregation blessed the Lord, &c. — They did as David desired, bowing down their heads in a gesture of adoration. Whoever is the mouth of the congregation to God, only those have the benefit of his ministrations who join with him, not so much by bowing down the head, as by lifting up the heart. And worshipped the Lord, and the king — The Lord with religious, and the king with civil worship.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

29:20-25 This great assembly joined with David in adoring God. Whoever is the mouth of the congregation, those only have the benefit who join him, not by bowing down the head, so much as by lifting up the soul. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord. Solomon's kingdom typified the kingdom of the Messiah, whose throne is the throne of the Lord.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Worshipped the Lord, and the king - The same outward signs of reverence were accorded by the customs of the Jews (as of the Oriental nations generally) to God and to their monarchs (see 1 Kings 1:31). But the application of the terms to both in the same passage, which occurs nowhere in Scripture but here, is thought to indicate a time when a long servitude under despotic lords had orientalized men's mode of speech.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

20. all the congregation … worshipped the Lord, and the king—Though the external attitude might be the same, the sentiments of which it was expressive were very different in the two cases—of divine worship in the one, of civil homage in the other.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The Lord with religious, and the king with civil worship, as it is evident.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And David said to all the congregation,.... Consisting of princes, captains, and officers, 1 Chronicles 28:1.

now bless the Lord your God; as he had done, for putting it into the power of their hands, and into their hearts, to do what they had:

and all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers; some one as the mouth of the rest put up a thanksgiving to God, as David directed, to which they all assented, and in which they all joined:

and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord and the king; the one with religious worship, the other with civil; the Syriac and Arabic versions more plainly distinguish, "they worshipped the Lord, and blessed David the king"; though some think Solomon, now made king, is meant.

Geneva Study Bible

And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the {l} king.

(l) That is, revered the king.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

20–22. The Great Rejoicing

20. worshipped] i.e. prostrated themselves.

1 Chronicles 29:20

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Close of the public assembly. - 1 Chronicles 29:20. At the conclusion of the prayer, David calls upon the whole assembly to praise God; which they do, bowing before God and the king, and worshipping. וישׁתּחווּ יקּדוּ, connected as in Exodus 4:31; Genesis 43:28, etc.