1 Kings 8:50 (ASV)

Passage

and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:48 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

1 Kings 8:49 then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause;

1 Kings 8:50 and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

1 Kings 8:51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron);

1 Kings 8:52 that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "transgressions", "forgive", "people", "sinned", "against", "thee", "wherein", and "transgressed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "transgressions" and "forgive", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 49's "then hear thou their prayer and their..." into verse 51's "for they are thy people and thine...", so "transgressions" and "forgive" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "transgressions" and "forgive" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.