John Gill Commentary 1 Kings 8:33

"When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house:" — 1 Kings 8:33 (ASV)

When thy people Israel shall be smitten down before the enemy ,
&c.] Beaten and routed, many slain, and others carried captive; which had been their case, and might be again, and was, though now a time of peace:

because they have sinned against thee ;
which always was the reason of their being given up into the hands of their enemies:

and shall turn again to thee ;
to thy worship, as the Targum, having fallen into idolatry, which was generally the case when they fell before their enemies:

and confess thy name ;
own him to be the true God, acknowledge his justice in their punishment, confess their sin, repent of it, and give him glory:

and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house ;
not the captives, unless it should be rendered, as it may, "toward this house" {f}; but those that escaped, or their brethren that went not out to battle, who should pray for them here.

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FOOTNOTES:

1. 
   F6 So Pool and Patrick.