1 Kings 8:46

46 When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far 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 Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name,

45 then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.

46 When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near,

47 and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’

48 and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name,