1 Kings 8:34 (ASV)

Passage

then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:32 then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

1 Kings 8:33 When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house:

1 Kings 8:34 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

1 Kings 8:35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:

1 Kings 8:36 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hear", "thou", "heaven", "forgive", "people", "israel", "bring", and "again". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hear" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "When thy people Israel are smitten down..." into verse 35's "When heaven is shut up and there...", so "hear" and "thou" 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 "hear" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.