1 Kings 8:32 (WEB)

Passage

then hear in heaven, and act, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:30 Listen to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

1 Kings 8:31 “If a man sins against his neighbor, and an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and he comes and swears before your altar in this house;

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

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

1 Kings 8:34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to their fathers.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "condemn", "hear", "heaven", "judge", "servants", "condemning", "wicked", and "bring". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "condemn" and "hear", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "If a man sins against his neighbor..." into verse 33's "When your people Israel are struck down...", so "condemn" and "hear" 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 "condemn" and "hear" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.