2 Chronicles 20:9 (KJV)

Passage

If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

2 Chronicles 20:8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

2 Chronicles 20:9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

2 Chronicles 20:10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

2 Chronicles 20:11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "evil", "cometh", "upon", "sword", "judgment", "pestilence", "famine", and "stand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "evil" and "cometh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And they dwelt therein and have built..." into verse 10's "And now behold the children of Ammon...", so "evil" and "cometh" belong inside that flow. In 2 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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