1 Kings 8:33

33 "An enemy may defeat your people Israel because they have sinned against you. But when your people turn to you, praise your name, pray, and plead with you in this temple,

1 Kings 8:33 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:33

When thy people Israel shall be smitten down before the enemy,
&c.] Beaten and routed, many slain, and others carried captive; which had been their case, and might be again, and was, though now a time of peace:

because they have sinned against thee;
which always was the reason of their being given up into the hands of their enemies:

and shall turn again to thee;
to thy worship, as the Targum, having fallen into idolatry, which was generally the case when they fell before their enemies:

and confess thy name;
own him to be the true God, acknowledge his justice in their punishment, confess their sin, repent of it, and give him glory:

and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house;
not the captives, unless it should be rendered, as it may, "toward this house" {f}; but those that escaped, or their brethren that went not out to battle, who should pray for them here.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 So Pool and Patrick.

1 Kings 8:33 In-Context

31 "If anyone sins against another person and is required to take an oath and comes to take the oath in front of your altar in this temple,

32 then hear [that person] in heaven, take action, and make a decision. Condemn the guilty person with the proper punishment, but declare the innocent person innocent.

33 "An enemy may defeat your people Israel because they have sinned against you. But when your people turn to you, praise your name, pray, and plead with you in this temple,

34 then hear [them] in heaven, forgive the sins of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors.

35 "When the sky is shut and there's no rain because they are sinning against you, and they pray toward this place, praise your name, and turn away from their sin because you made them suffer,