2 Chronicles 6:26

6:26 “The time will come when ¹  the skies ²  are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people ³  sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, ⁴  and turn away from their sin because you punish ⁵  them,

[6:26]  ¹ tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 26-27a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[6:26]  ² tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[6:26]  ³ tn Heb “they.”

[6:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”

[6:26]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text reads “because you answer them,” as if the verb is from עָנָה (’anah, “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 (“afflict”).