1 Kings 8:35 (LSB)

Passage

“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:33 “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house,

1 Kings 8:34 then listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

1 Kings 8:35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

1 Kings 8:36 then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And give rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

1 Kings 8:37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heavens", "shut", "rain", "sinned", "against", "pray", "toward", and "place". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heavens" and "shut", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 34's "then listen in heaven and forgive the..." into verse 36's "then listen in heaven and forgive the...", so "heavens" and "shut" 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 "heavens" and "shut" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.