1 Kings 8:37 (DRB)

Passage

If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew; if their enemy afflict them, besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity,

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:35 If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions:

1 Kings 8:36 Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and shew them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession.

1 Kings 8:37 If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew; if their enemy afflict them, besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity,

1 Kings 8:38 Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house;

1 Kings 8:39 Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men)

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "famine", "arise", "land", "pestilence", "corrupt", "blasting", "locust", and "mildew". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "famine" and "arise", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 36's "Then hear thou them in heaven and..." into verse 38's "Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to...", so "famine" and "arise" 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 "famine" and "arise" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.