1 Kings 8:35 (GNV)

Passage

When heauen shalbe shut vp, and there shalbe no raine because they haue sinned against thee, and shall pray in this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou doest afflict them,

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:33 When thy people Israel shall be ouerthrowen before the enemie, because they haue sinned against thee, and turne againe to thee, and confesse thy Name, and pray and make supplication vnto thee in this house,

1 Kings 8:34 Then heare thou in heauen, and be mercifull vnto the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the lande, which thou gauest vnto their fathers.

1 Kings 8:35 When heauen shalbe shut vp, and there shalbe no raine because they haue sinned against thee, and shall pray in this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou doest afflict them,

1 Kings 8:36 Then heare thou in heauen, and pardon the sinne of thy seruants and of thy people Israel (when thou hast taught the the good way wherein they may walke) and giue raine vpon the land that thou hast giuen to thy people to inherite.

1 Kings 8:37 When there shalbe famine in the land, when there shalbe pestilence, when there shall be blasting, mildewe, grashopper or caterpiller, when their enemie shall besiege them in the cities of their lande, or any plague, or any sickenesse,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heauen", "shalbe", "shut", "raine", "haue", "sinned", and "against". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heauen" and "shalbe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 34's "Then heare thou in heauen and be..." into verse 36's "Then heare thou in heauen and pardon...", so "heauen" and "shalbe" 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 "heauen" and "shalbe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.