1 Kings 8:46

When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Solomon prays to God at the dedication of the temple, addressing the assembled Israelites and the divine presence. He outlines a future contingency where the nation faces national disobedience. He addresses the congregation and the divine presence, framing the prayer as intercession for a time of national disobedience. He addresses the gathered people and God, framing the prayer as intercession for a future period of national exile.

The words — The Hebrew phrase אֵין אָדָם לֹא יֶחֱטָא (ein adam lo yecheta') literally reads "there is no man who does not sin." This phrase establishes the universal scope of the disobedience Solomon anticipates.

The thread — The text's claim that no one avoids sin runs parallel to Ecclesiastes 7:20 and Proverbs 20:9, which both deny the possibility of a sinless human life. Isaiah 53:6 later applies this universal condition to the collective guilt borne by a substitute.

Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to acknowledge that exile is the direct consequence of sin, not an arbitrary punishment. It demands that a reader recognize repentance must precede any hope of divine hearing.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

Cross-references

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?
Isaiah 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 64:6 Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Psalms 130:3 If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?
James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
Leviticus 26:34 Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.
Deuteronomy 28:36 The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.