Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 8:31-32

"If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come [and] swear before thine altar in this house; then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness." — 1 Kings 8:31-32 (ASV)

If any man trespass. —These verses deal with the simplest exemplification of the Temple's sacredness in the case of the oath of clearing for one accused of a crime . Our Lord addresses these oaths, and the sophistical distinctions between their various forms, in Matthew 23:16-22.

Such an oath has a twofold force—a purely spiritual force, since it solemnly recognizes God’s Presence and by such recognition shames all falsehood as a kind of sacrilege; and a force that is “of the Law,” since the invocation of God’s punishment for falsehood appeals to godly fear. Solomon prays that God will accept the oath in both these aspects and, by His judgment, distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.