1 Kings 8:35-40

8:35 “The time will come when ¹  the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people ²  sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, ³  and turn away from their sin because you punish ⁴  them, 8:36 then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly ⁵  you will then teach them the right way to live ⁶  and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess. ⁷ 

8:37 “The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust ⁸  invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, ⁹  or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. 8:38 When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, ¹⁰  as they acknowledge their pain ¹¹  and spread out their hands toward this temple, 8:39 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, ¹²  and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. ¹³  (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) ¹⁴  8:40 Then they will obey ¹⁵  you throughout their lifetimes as ¹⁶  they live on the land you gave to our ancestors.

[8:35]  ¹ tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 35-36a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[8:35]  ² tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:35]  ³ tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”

[8:35]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “because you answer them,” as if the verb is from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). However, this reference to a divine answer is premature, since the next verse asks for God to intervene in mercy. It is better to revocalize the consonantal text as תְעַנֵּם (tÿ’annem, “you afflict them”), a Piel verb form from the homonym עָנָה (“to afflict”).

[8:36]  ⁵ tn The translation understands כִּי (ki) in an emphatic or asseverative sense.

[8:36]  ⁶ tn Heb “the good way in which they should walk.”

[8:36]  ⁷ tn Or “for an inheritance.”

[8:37]  ⁹ tn Actually two Hebrew terms appear here, both of which are usually taken as referring to locusts. Perhaps different stages of growth or different varieties are in view.

[8:37]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the land, his gates.”

[8:38]  ¹³ tn Heb “every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel.”

[8:38]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “which they know, each the pain of his heart.”

[8:39]  ¹⁷ tn The words “their sin” are added for clarification.

[8:39]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 37-39a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.

[8:39]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind.”

[8:40]  ²¹ tn Heb “fear.”

[8:40]  ²² tn Heb “all the days [in] which.”