2 Chronicles 7:19 (KJV)

Passage

But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 7:17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;

2 Chronicles 7:18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.

2 Chronicles 7:19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

2 Chronicles 7:20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

2 Chronicles 7:21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turn", "away", "forsake", "statutes", "commandments", "before", "shall", and "serve". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "turn" and "away", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "Then will I stablish the throne of..." into verse 20's "Then will I pluck them up by...", so "turn" and "away" 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 "turn" and "away" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.