1-Kings - 8:47



47 yet if they shall repent in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely; we have dealt wickedly;'

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Kings 8:47.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
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;
yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;
Then if they do penance in their heart in the place of captivity, and being converted make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness:
and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done iniquity, we have dealt perversely;
Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent and make supplication to thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
and they have turned it back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely, we have done wickedly;
Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication to you in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, and are turned again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil;
yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn back, and make supplication unto Thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying: We have sinned, and have done iniquitously, we have dealt wickedly;
yet if they shall repent in the land where they are carried captive, and repent and make petition to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely; we have dealt wickedly;'
and if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and having been converted, make supplication to you in their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned; we acted unjustly; we committed impiety,'

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Bethink themselves - literally, as in the margin - i. e. "reflect," "consider seriously." Compare Deuteronomy 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.

[Yet] if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee (r) in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
(r) Though the temple was the chief place of prayer, yet he does not exclude them who being forced by necessity to call upon him in other places.

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.

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