2 Chronicles 7:21 (KJV)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

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?

2 Chronicles 7:22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "house", "high", "shall", "astonishment", "passeth", "hath", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "house" and "high", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Then will I pluck them up by..." into verse 22's "And it shall be answered Because they...", so "house" and "high" 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 "house" and "high" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.