מלכים א ח׳:כ״ב-ל״ד

ויעמוד שלמה לפני מזבח ה'. כתיב (בדברי הימים ב ו יג): כי עשה שלמה כיור נחושת ויתנהו בתוך העזרה וגו', ויעמוד עליו ויברך על ברכיו:

And Shlomo stood before the Altar of Adonoy. [As] it is written, “and Shlomo made a copper basin and had set it in the midst of the court, etc. and upon it he stood, and knelt on his knees.”¹⁵Even though a king of Yisroel is allowed to sit in the Beis Hamikdosh [See II Shmuel 7:18], Shlomo chose to stand.¹⁶II Divrei Hayomim 6:13.

שמר הברית. ממתין וגונז לשמור הברית והחסד, לקיים הבטחתו:

Preserver of the covenant. He waits and stores away [reward] to keep the covenant and [is based on] mercy, to fulfill His promise.¹⁷Which He made with our Patriarchs.—Radak

אשר שמרת. לשון אמנת הבטחה:

You preserved. [שמרת is] a expression meaning the fulfillment of a promise.

האמנם. לשון תימה:

Will. [This is] an expression of wonder.

לא יכלכלוך. לא יכילוך:

Cannot contain You. Cannot contain You.¹⁸The root of יכלכלוך is “כול”, meaning to contain, as in, “each basin could hold [=יכיל],” in 7:38 above.

אשר יחטא איש לרעהו. בועל אשת איש:

Should a person sin against his fellow man. One who has intimate relations with a married woman.

ונשא בו אלה. כשם שהמים בודקין אותה, כך המים בודקין אותו (סוטה כז ב):

And is liable that a curse. Just as the water examines her, so does the water examine him.¹⁹Rashi explains אלה as “a curse,” i.e., the waters examines “him” i.e., the husband, as well. In this instance, אלה does not mean “oath”, because the husband of a Sotah is not subject to an oath.

ונשא בו. לשון נושה:

And is liable. An expression of a creditor.

ובא אלה לפני מזבחך. והעמיד הכהן את האשה לפני ה' (במדבר ה יח):

And the curse comes before your altar. “And the Kohein shall stand the woman before Adonoy.”²⁰Bamidbar 5:18

לתת דרכו בראשו. וצבתה בטנה וגו' (שם פסוק כז):

To set his [evil] way upon his head. “And her abdomen will swell, etc.”²¹Ibid. v. 27.²²Alternatively, if one swears falsely in the Beis Hamikdosh, his punishment should be swift and obvious, so that people recognize the unique level of sanctity of the Beis Hamikdosh, and they would perceive that the Beis Hamikdosh as God’s chosen place.—Radak

ולהצדיק צדיק. ונקתה ונזרעה זרע (שם פסוק כח) כך נדרש בתוספתא דסוטה (א ג):

And to justify the righteous one. “Then she will be cleared, and shall bear seed.”²³Bamidbar 5:28. Thus it is expounded in the Tosefta of Maseches Sotah.²⁴ 1:3.

והודו את שמך. שחייב אדם לברך על הרעה (ברכות נד א):

And praise Your Name. For a person is obliged to bless God for the bad.²⁵Maseches Berachos 54a.