📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 16:15
What does 1 Chronicles 16:15 mean?
"Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,"
— 1 Chronicles 16:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
you offspring of Israel his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is Yahweh our God. His judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac.
He confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance,”
Explanation
1 Chronicles 16:15 comes in the middle of a song of thanksgiving that David composed when the Ark of the Covenant was finally brought into Jerusalem and placed in the tent David had prepared for it. In plain language, the verse is a call to remember something specific: God's covenant, and the word he commanded, is not a temporary arrangement but an enduring commitment meant to last "forever" and across "a thousand generations" — a Hebrew idiom for something essentially without limit, stretching far beyond any single lifetime or era.
The context is important. This psalm of praise (1 Chronicles 16:8-36) was delivered by David through the Levite worship leader Asaph on the day the Ark arrived in Jerusalem, a moment of immense national and spiritual significance for Israel. Much of this same psalm appears again in Psalms 105 and 106, showing how central it became to Israel's worship. In the verses surrounding verse 15, David recounts God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the promise to give them the land of Canaan as an inheritance, made "to a thousand generations" (v. 16-18). So verse 15 functions as an introduction to that historical recollection: before rehearsing what God specifically promised the patriarchs, David urges the people (and himself) to keep that covenant continually in mind.
Theologically, the verse emphasizes God's faithfulness and the enduring nature of his promises. Covenants in the ancient Near East were solemn, binding agreements, and here the psalmist highl
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