1 Kings 8:38 (YLT)

Passage

any prayer, any supplication that <FI>is<Fi> of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house,

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:36 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, for Thou directest them the good way in which they go, and hast given rain on Thy land which Thou hast given to Thy people for inheritance.

1 Kings 8:37 `Famine--when it is in the land; pestilence--when it is; blasting, mildew, locust; caterpillar--when it is; when its enemy hath distressed it in the land <FI>in<Fi> its gates, any plague, any sickness, --

1 Kings 8:38 any prayer, any supplication that <FI>is<Fi> of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house,

1 Kings 8:39 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known--Thyself alone--the heart of all the sons of man),

1 Kings 8:40 so that they fear Thee all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "Famine--when it is in the land pestilence--when..." into verse 39's "then Thou dost hear in the heavens...", so "prayer" and "supplication" 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 "prayer" and "supplication" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.