1 Kings 8:32

1Ki 8:32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

Ver. 32. Condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head.] This God hath done on those who have taken false oaths of execration, as were easy to instance in the three false accusers of Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem; {a} in Earl Godwin; and in Anne Averies, who, forswearing herself, A.D. 1575, Feb. 11, at a shop of Wood Street in London, praying God she might sink where she stood if she had not paid for the wares she took, fell down presently speechless, and with horrible stink died.

{a} Euseb.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 8:32. Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge — Discover the truth, and judge between the contending parties. He prays that in difficult matters his throne of grace might be a throne of judgment, from which God would right the injured that believingly appealed to it; and punish the injurious that presumptuously appealed to it. To bring his way upon his head — The just recompense of his wicked action and course. And justifying the righteous, to give him, &c. — To vindicate him, and manifest his integrity.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, make it known.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

32. then hear thou in heaven] As the truth in such a case as is supposed can be known to God alone, He is prayed to act the part assigned to judges in the Law (cf. Deu_25:1) and to make known in His own way which persons take the oath justly, and which unjustly. The close imitation of the language of Deuteronomy deserves to be noticed.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then hear thou in heaven,.... When the injured person makes supplication to have justice done him:

and do, and judge thy servants; contending with one another, the one affirming, the other denying

condemning the wicked, by bringing his way upon his head: inflicting upon him the punishment imprecated by him in his oath:

and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness; by making it appear that his cause is just.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Justice. A reward is clearly promised to good works. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

To bring his way, i.e. the just recompence of his wicked action and course.

Justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness; to vindicate him, and to manifest his integrity.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Judge thy servants — Human tribunals often clear the guilty and condemn the righteous, but Solomon prays that in every case of oaths concerning trespass brought before that altar, the right may be vindicated.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then hear thou in heaven Heb. and thou, thou wilt hear the heavens. The same expression, mvT, is found in vers. 34, 36, 39. See Ewald, 300 a. Keil sees in it the adverbial use of the accusative. Most of the versions read "from heaven," as does the Chronicles and one MS., and do i.e., act and judge thy servants, condemning Heb. to make (i.e., prove) wicked the wicked, to bring Heb. give, same word as below his way i.e., works, fruits upon his head cf. Eze_9:10 Eze_11:21; same expression and justifying Heb. to make righteous. Cf. dikaioun in N.T. and justum facere the righteous cognate words are used in both cases, to give him according to his righteousness.

The second special petition contemplates the case, which was morally certain to occur, of Hebrews taken captive in war and carried to a foreign land. To be separated from the commonwealth, the rites and the blessings of Israel, was one of the greatest calamities which could befal a Jew, (Deu_4:27, 28 Lev_26:33 Ps 137) and as such Solomon gives it a prominent place in his prayer. The connexion, how. ever which some have imagined to exist between this prayer and the preceding, viz., that that referred to internal, this to external dangers, is too artificial to have found a place in Solomon"s thoughts.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His way - The just recompence of his wicked action. Give him, &c. - To vindicate him, and manifest his integrity.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

To set his [evil] way upon his head. “And her abdomen will swell, etc.”

And to justify the righteous one. “Then she will be cleared, and shall bear seed.” Thus it is expounded in the Tosefta of Maseches Sotah.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.