2 Chronicles 7:13 (DBY)

Passage

If I shut up the heavens that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 7:11 And Solomon completed the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he did prosperously.

2 Chronicles 7:12 Then Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen for myself this place for a house of sacrifice.

2 Chronicles 7:13 If I shut up the heavens that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

2 Chronicles 7:14 and my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attentive to the prayer [made] in this place;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shut", "heavens", "rain", "command", "locust", "devour", "land", and "send". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shut" and "heavens", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Then Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night..." into verse 14's "and my people who are called by...", so "shut" and "heavens" 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 "shut" and "heavens" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.