1 Kings 8:46-51

46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near;

47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;

48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name;

49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;

51 for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.

1 Kings 8:46-51 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, 1Ki 8:1-9 of the glory of the Lord filling it, 1Ki 8:10,11 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, 1Ki 8:12-21, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, 1Ki 8:22-53, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, 1Ki 8:54-61, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, 1Ki 8:62-66.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 130:3; Psalms 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; S Romans 3:9; 1 John 1:8-10
• 2. Leviticus 26:33-39; S Deuteronomy 4:27; S Deuteronomy 21:10; S Deuteronomy 28:64; 2 Kings 25:21
• 3. S ver 30; S Leviticus 5:5; Leviticus 26:40; Ezra 9:15; Nehemiah 1:6; Jeremiah 14:20
• 4. Ezra 9:7; Psalms 106:6; Jeremiah 3:25; Daniel 9:5
• 5. S Deuteronomy 4:30
• 6. S Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:12-14
• 7. 1 John 1:8-10; Daniel 6:10
• 8. Psalms 5:7; Psalms 11:4; John 2:4
• 9. Deuteronomy 12:11-14; Nehemiah 1:9; Jeremiah 23:3; Jeremiah 31:8
• 10. 2 Kings 25:28; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Psalms 106:46; Daniel 1:9
• 11. S Exodus 34:9; S Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 9:29; Nehemiah 1:10
• 12. S Exodus 1:13; Isaiah 48:10; Jeremiah 11:4