1 Chronicles 4:10

King James Version (KJV)

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

Translations

1 Chronicles 4:10 - Amplified Bible

Jabez cried to the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me! And God granted his request.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - American Standard Version

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that thy hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it be not to my sorrow! And God granted him that which he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - Bible in Basic English

And Jabez made a prayer to the God of Israel, saying, If only you would truly give me a blessing, and make wider the limits of my land, and let your hand be with me, and keep me from evil, so that I may not be troubled by it! And God gave him his desire.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - Darby Bible

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that thou wouldest richly bless me, and enlarge my border, and that thy hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God brought about what he had requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - English Standard Version

Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - King James Version

1 Chronicles 4:10 - La Biblia de las Americas

Jabes invocò al Dios de Israel, diciendo: ¡Oh, si en verdad me bendijeras, ensancharas mi territorio, y tu mano estuviera conmigo y me guardaras del mal para que no me causara dolor! Y Dios le concediò lo que pidiò.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - The Message

1 Chronicles 4:10 - New American Standard Bible

Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep {me} from harm that {it} may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

Jabes invocò al Dios de Israel, diciendo: "¡Oh, si en verdad me bendijeras, ensancharas mi territorio, y Tu mano estuviera conmigo y me guardaras del mal para que no me causara dolor!" Y Dios le concediò lo que pidiò.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - World English Bible

Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it not be to my sorrow! God granted him that which he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - Young's Living Translation

And Jabez calleth to the God of Israel, saying, `If blessing Thou dost bless me, then Thou hast made great my border, and Thy hand hath been with me, and Thou hast kept [me] from evil -- not to grieve me;` and God bringeth in that which he asked.

1 Chronicles 4:10 - Additional Comments

Jabez called on the true God, the God of Israel.
How we pray should be modeled after the Model Prayer in Matt 6:9-13. What we learn from the Prayer of Jabez should fit into what we see in that prayer.
The parts of Jabez' prayer:
- "that You would bless me indeed" - he trusts God, giving Him a blank sheet of paper, allowing God to choose what is best for Him, but asking that God would be working to bless Jabez. What better blessing than to allow God to do what is best. God wants to give us the desires of our heart (Psa 37:4). But we need to be careful about trying to push God to do for us what ultimately He knows is not the best. This parallels Matt 6:10 - "Your will be done."
- "that You would enlarge my territory" - he asks that God would enlarge his realm of influence for Him, so He could have a great influence for God. Implied is that God would also enlarge Him to be able to handle the enlarged territory. This parallels more the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) rather than something in the Model Prayer.
- "that Your hand would be with me" - this is similar the practicing the presence of God - always being aware God is near, but also trusting that God is always taking care of him. This is similar to asking that His hand not be withheld -- see Psa 40:11, Psa 69:17, Psa 84:11, Job 13:24, Psa 13:1, Psa 27:9, etc. This parallels Matt 6:11, "Give us this day our daily bread." He is really asking God to meet his needs, to take care of him.
- "that You would keep me from evil, that I would not cause pain" - see Psa 139:23-24. He needs God's power to overcome temptation. He also hates how his sin affects the lives of others. So often people only see their sin affecting them, and miss how much it affects others. This parallels Matt 6:13 - "do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
This and the Model Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) gives us guidelines of how to pray. How would you characterize your prayer life?

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