1 Kings 8:46If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn't sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;
The setting
Jerusalem, Israel, 957 BC. Solomon acknowledges the dark reality that even God's chosen people will fail, be defeated, and carried away to foreign lands as captives.
The emotion here: heavy-hearted realism about human nature and inevitable consequences
The original word
chata (חָטָא) — to miss the mark, like an archer whose arrow falls short of the target
Why it matters
This prayer prophetically described Israel's later exile to Babylon 400 years before it happened
Read with care
What most readers miss in 1 Kings 8:46
Solomon is praying for Israel's future exile before they've even sinned their way into it
Common misconceptionPeople think this verse is pessimistic, but Solomon is actually being merciful—he's acknowledging human frailty so future generations won't despair when they fail.
The thread continues
Verses that echo 1 Kings 8:46
Bible Genome reading
1 Kings 8:46 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
1 Kings 8:46 comes from the book of 1 Kings, written during the United Kingdom period. The setting is the Temple. These words are attributed to Solomon. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 30% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the prayer genre of biblical literature. Key themes include universal sinfulness, human nature, consequences. Notable phrases: there is no man who doesn't sin. This verse is a prayer.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same anxious
“And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
— 2 Timothy 3:12
“The evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"”
— Acts 19:15
“I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'”
— Acts 22:7
“When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is har…”
— Acts 26:14
Your reflection
What does 1 Kings 8:46 mean to you, today?
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