1 Kings 8:33

When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy [cf. Le 26:7, 17; Deuteronomy 28:25 . There is a constant reference to these two chapters throughout this prayer, or, if no direct reference to them, there are unmistakeable reminiscences of them], because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess [or praise . Psalm 54:8 Hebrews; 106:47; 122:4] thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house. [The marg. towards is a mistaken attempt at avoiding the difficulty which lies on the surface of the text, viz; that persons in a foreign land could not pray in the temple. But the king obviously is speaking here, not of those taken captive, but of the nation at large ("thy people Israel") by its representatives (cf. Joel 2:17 ), supplicating after its defeat. The idea of captives does not come in until the next verse. Under the term house the courts are obviously included ( Acts 2:46 ; Luke 18:10 ). Into the edifice the priests alone were admitted.