2 Chronicles 7:13
in 2 Chronicles 7If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
KJV
If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If I shut up heaven
on 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
Three judgments are named that the law had already tied to covenant breach: shut heaven, devouring locusts, and pestilence sent among the people. Barnes and the wider bench mark verses thirteen through fifteen as material this book alone carries, absent from the parallel in Kings. The answer in verse fourteen is Scripture's only occurrence of if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land, spoken about this house and this land to a king who has just finished building both. Henry reads the promise as national mercy, forgiveness for the sin that brought the judgment and healing for what it broke; later readers have carried the verse out past its own covenant setting to any praying people, a use the words invite without the text itself naming a nation beyond Israel.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that is, "There will I make myself known, and there will I be called upon." II. He promised to answer the prayers of his people that should at any time be made in that place,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the L ORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the L ORD , saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v3-4
), famine, and pestilence, and perhaps war, for by the locusts devouring the land meant enemies as greedy as locusts, and laying all waste. National repentance, prayer, and reformation, are required,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Or if I send pestilence - “The angel of death.” - Targum.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
If I shut up.. if I command..or if I send corresponding to three prayers, “I shall hear..and forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the Lord appeared to Solomon at night in a vision of the night.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֣ן | hen | here! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֶֽעֱצֹ֤ר | ʾeetzor | I will shut up | H6113 → | 47 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מָטָ֔ר | matar | rain | H4306 → | 38 times |
| וְהֵן־ | vehen- | and here! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֲצַוֶּ֥ה | ʾatzaveh | I will command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חָגָ֖ב | chagav | [the] grasshopper | H2284 → | |
| לֶאֱכ֣וֹל | leekhol | to devour | H398 → | 810 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֲשַׁלַּ֥ח | ʾashalach | I will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| דֶּ֖בֶר | dever | pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
| בְּעַמִּֽי׃ | beami | among people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
הֵ֣ןhere!
henH2005 →316 times
אֶֽעֱצֹ֤רI will shut up
ʾeetzorH6113 →47 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֣הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מָטָ֔רrain
matarH4306 →38 times
וְהֵן־and here!
vehen-H2005 →316 times
אֲצַוֶּ֥הI will command
ʾatzavehH6680 →494 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חָגָ֖ב[the] grasshopper
chagavH2284 →
לֶאֱכ֣וֹלto devour
leekholH398 →810 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
אֲשַׁלַּ֥חI will send
ʾashalachH7971 →845 times
דֶּ֖בֶרpestilence
deverH1698 →49 times
בְּעַמִּֽי׃among people my
beamiH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 3:7To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 22:22
I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
- Matthew 16:19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
- Revelation 1:18
the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Job 12:14
What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Isaiah 22:22
Through
Deuteronomy 11:17or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 17:1
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 8:35
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because…
- 2 Chronicles 6:26
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because…
- 1 Kings 17:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.