1 Kings 8:48

48 if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name,

1 Kings 8:48 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:48

And so return unto thee, with all their heart, and with
all their soul
In the most sincere and cordial manner, with great ingenuity and uprightness; the Targum is,

``return unto thy worship;''

relinquishing false worship they had given into, and serve the Lord in the best manner they could:

in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive;
and so at a distance from that temple, and the service of it, which

1 Kings 8:48 In-Context

46 "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near,

47 and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,'

48 if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name,

49 then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}.

50 You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them,

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "fathers"
• [b]. The Hebrew Masoretic text (Kethib) reads "you have built";Qere reads "I have built"