1st Kings Chapter 8 verse 31 Holy Bible
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;
read chapter 8 in ASV
If a man does wrong to his neighbour, and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:
read chapter 8 in BBE
If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
read chapter 8 in DARBY
If any man trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
read chapter 8 in KJV
If any man shall trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy altar in this house:
read chapter 8 in WBT
If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid on him to cause him to swear, and he come [and] swear before your altar in this house;
read chapter 8 in WEB
that which a man sinneth against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up upon him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house,
read chapter 8 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 31. - If any man trespass [The force of the Hebrew (which begins somewhat abruptly) אֵת אֲשֶׁר (LXX. ὅσα α}ν ἁμάρτη) is probably, As for that which, or in all cases in which, i.e., when (as Ewald, 333 a). The chronicler, as usual, simplifies by reading אֵם] against his neighbour, and an oath be laid [Heb. and he (the neighbour) lay an oath, i.e., prescribe a form of adjuration, such as that in Deuteronomy 21:7] upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come [This translation cannot be maintained. For in the Heb. there is no def. art., as there would be if אָלָה were noun and nominative; and, moreover in that case the verb, to agree with the feminine noun, would be בָּאָה. And as no other meaning can be extracted from the words as they stand, we are driven to suspect a slight corruption of the text, either (1) the omission of ו between the words, which in that case would have stood ובא ואלה, and would mean, "and he (the accused) come and swear" - a conjecture which is supported by the LXX., καὶ ἔλθῃ καὶ ἐξαγορεύση, or (2) the omission of the preposition ב, which would yield ובא באלה = and he (the accused) enters into the oath, an expression found in Nehemiah 10:29 and Ezekiel 17:13] before thine altar in this house. [Despite the last words, the altar of sacrifice before the house is probably meant. This was the altar of the Jewish layman, and, moreover it was one visible sign of the covenant. Psalm 1:5; Exodus 24:6-8; cf. 20:24. The altar which afforded shelter to the manslayer, in the same way lent sanctity to the oath. The practice of swearing by the altar (Matthew 23:18) is of later date.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(31, 32) If any man trespass.--These verses deal with the simplest exemplification of the sacredness of the Temple in the case of the oath of expurgation of one accused of crime (see Exodus 22:7). Of these oaths, and the sophistical distinctions between the various forms of them, we have Our Lord's notice in Matthew 23:16-22. Such an oath has a twofold force--a force purely spiritual, inasmuch as it solemnly recognises the Presence of God, and by such recognition shames all falsehood as a kind of sacrilege; and a force which is "of the Law," inasmuch as the invocation of God's punishment in case of falsehood appeals to godly fear. Solomon prays that God will accept the oath under both aspects, and by His judgment distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.
