1 Kings 8:47

1Ki 8:47 [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;

Ver. 47. Yet if they shall bethink themselves.] Heb., Bring back to their heart; turn short again upon themselves, and see what an "evil and a bitter thing sin is." This is the first thing in true repentance, as is to be seen in Ephraim, {Jer 31:19} and the prodigal, who "came to himself," and then resolved to return to his father. {Luk 15:17-18}

We have sinned, and have done perversely.] Sin must be confessed with utmost aggravation, - load must be laid upon it, and the worst made of it.

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 8:47-49. If they shall bethink themselves — Consider their ways, and reflect on their past conduct as the cause of their sufferings. Hebrew, If they shall bring back their hearts from their idols and vanities; from going out after, and trusting in, any creature. And repent — Afflictions are calculated to bring men, first to serious consideration, and then to repentance; and when they are truly penitent, they wilt confess their sins and humble themselves. Saying — Sensibly, and with an honest heart; we have sinned and done perversely. And return unto thee with all their heart and all their soul — Sincerely, universally, and steadfastly. Then hear thou, and maintain their cause — Hebrew, their right against their invaders and oppressors; for they had forfeited all their rights to God only, but not to their enemies; whom though God used as scourges to chastise his people’s sins, yet they had no pretence of right to their land.

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

Though the Temple was the chief place of prayer, yet he secludeth not them, that being let with necessity call upon him in other places.

Or, if they repent.

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

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 done perversely, we have committed wickedness; which phrases include all their sins, with all the aggravated circumstances of them, and their sense of them, and contrition for them.

(a) "et reversi fuerint ad cor suum", Pagninas, Montanus, Vatablus.

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

Bethink themselves - literally, as in the margin - i. e. “reflect,” “consider seriously.” Compare Deu 30:1.

Sinned, done perversely, committed wickedness - The words here used seem to have become the standard form of expressing contrition when the time of the captivity arrived and the Israelites were forcibly removed to Babylon (compare the margin reference). The three expressions are thought to form a climax, rising from negative to positive guilt, and from mere wrongful acts to depravation of the moral character.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Heart. Without this, external repentance will not suffice. (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).

If they shall bethink themselves, Heb. bring back their hearts, to wit, their sin; expressed 1Ki 8:46, and implied in the following word,

repent. Saying, sensibly, and with an honest heart,

We have sinned, & c.

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

Yet if they shall bethink themselves Heb. as marg., bring back to their heart. Same phrase, Deu_4:39 Deu_30:1. The latter passage, it should be noticed, treats of the captivity, so that Solomon, consciously or unconsciously, employs some of the very words used by Moses in contemplating this contingency. These repeated coincidences lead to the belief that the prayer was based upon and compiled from the Pentateuch 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. This verse is full of paronomasia, wby wb wb etc. Words almost identical with this confession were used (Dan_9:5 Psa_106:6) by the Jews in their captivity at Babylon, from which it has been concluded that this part of the prayer must belong to the time of the captivity. But surely it is, to say the least, just as likely that the Jews, when the captivity of which Solomon spoke befel them, borrowed the phrase in which their great king by anticipation expressed their penitence. Seeing in the captivity a fulfilment of his prediction, they would naturally see in this formula, which no doubt had been preserved in the writings of the prophets, a confession specially appropriate to their case, and indeed provided for their use.

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