1 Kings 8:38 (WEB)

Passage

whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread out his hands toward this house,

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send 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 blight, mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is;

1 Kings 8:38 whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread out his hands toward this house,

1 Kings 8:39 then hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men);

1 Kings 8:40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whatever", "prayer", "supplication", "people", "israel", "shall", "each", and "plague". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whatever" and "prayer", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "If there is famine in the land..." into verse 39's "then hear in heaven your dwelling place...", so "whatever" and "prayer" 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 "whatever" and "prayer" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.