1 Kings 8:46

46 `When they sin against Thee (for there is not a man who sinneth not), and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity unto the land of the enemy far off or near;

1 Kings 8:46 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:46

If they sin against thee
The same persons when they were gone forth to battle, not observing the divine commands as they should:

for there is no man that sinneth not;
such are the depravity of human nature, the treachery of the heart, and the temptations of Satan, of which Solomon had early notice, and was afterwards still more confirmed in the truth of, ( Ecclesiastes 7:20 )

and thou be angry with them;
for their sins, and resent their conduct:

so as to deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away
captive unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
as into Assyria or Babylon, whither they were carried.

1 Kings 8:46 In-Context

44 `When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Jehovah the way of the city which thou hast fixed on, and of the house which I have builded for Thy name;

45 then Thou hast heard in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause.

46 `When they sin against Thee (for there is not a man who sinneth not), and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity unto the land of the enemy far off or near;

47 and they have turned [it] back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely -- we have done wickedly;

48 yea, they have turned back unto Thee, with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed unto Thee the way of their land, which Thou gavest to their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have builded for Thy name: