Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
Solomon having made a general surrender of this house to God, which God had signified his acceptance of by taking possession, next follows Solomon's prayer, in which he makes a more particular declaration of the uses of that surrender, with all humility and reverence, desiring that God would agree thereto.
Commenting on 1 Kings 8:22-53
Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives,.... Or, "return to their heart" (a); remember their sins, the cause of their captivity, and reflect upon them: and repent of them, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives; though and while they are in such a state: saying, we have sinned, and have...
HIS PRAYER. (1Ki. 8:22-61) Solomon stood before the altar--This position was in the court of the people, on a brazen scaffold erected for the occasion (Ch2 6:13), fronting the altar of burnt offering, and surrounded by a mighty concourse of people.
Commenting on 1 Kings 8:22-61