2 Chronicles 6:26

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place, confess Your name, and turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

בְּהֵעָצֵ֧ר הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה מָטָ֖ר כִּ֣י יֶֽחֶטְאוּ־לָ֑ךְ וְהִֽתְפַּלְל֞וּ אֶל־הַמָּק֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ וְהוֹד֣וּ אֶת־שְׁמֶ֔ךָ מֵחַטָּאתָ֥ם יְשׁוּב֖וּן כִּ֥י תַעֲנֵֽם׃

Transliteration

In-bəhēʿāṣēr haššāmayim and-not-yihyeh māṭār because yeḥeṭʾû-to-you, and-hiṯpallǝlû to-hammāqôm hazzeh and-hôḏû ʾeṯ-šəmeḵā; from-ḥaṭṭāʾṯām yəšûḇûn because ṯaʿănēm.

Grammar Details

• *bəhēʿāṣēr*: infinitive construct, niphal with preposition - when shutting up, restraining
• *haššāmayim*: noun, masculine plural with definite article - the heavens
• *yihyeh*: imperfect, qal, 3rd person masculine singular - there will be
• *māṭār*: noun, masculine singular - rain
• *yeḥeṭʾû*: imperfect, qal, 3rd person masculine plural - they will sin
• *hiṯpallǝlû*: perfect, hitpael, 3rd person common plural - they have prayed
• *hammāqôm*: noun, masculine singular with definite article - the place
• *hazzeh*: demonstrative adjective, masculine singular - this
• *hôḏû*: perfect, hiphil, 3rd person common plural - they have confessed
• *šəmeḵā*: noun, masculine singular with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your name
• *ḥaṭṭāʾṯām*: noun, feminine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their sin
• *yəšûḇûn*: imperfect, qal, 3rd person masculine plural with paragogic nun - they will return
• *ṯaʿănēm*: imperfect, hiphil, 2nd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - you will afflict them

Word Meanings

• *bəhēʿāṣēr*: to shut up, restrain, withhold
• *yihyeh*: there will be, will happen, will occur
• *māṭār*: rain, rainfall, precipitation
• *yeḥeṭʾû*: sin, miss the mark, offend
• *hiṯpallǝlû*: pray, intercede, plead
• *hôḏû*: confess, acknowledge, give thanks
• *ḥaṭṭāʾṯām*: their sin, transgression, offense
• *yəšûḇûn*: return, turn back, repent
• *ṯaʿănēm*: you will afflict them, humble them, answer them

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them;

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  When the heavens{H8064} are shut up,{H6113} and there is no rain,{H4306} because they have sinned{H2398} against thee; if they pray{H6419} toward this place,{H4725} and confess{H3034} thy name,{H8034} and turn{H7725} from their sin,{H2403} when thou dost afflict{H6031} them:

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  When the heaven{H8064} is shut up{H6113}{(H8736)}, and there is no rain{H4306}, because they have sinned{H2398}{(H8799)} against thee; yet if they pray{H6419}{(H8694)} toward this place{H4725}, and confess{H3034}{(H8689)} thy name{H8034}, and turn{H7725}{(H8799)} from their sin{H2403}, when thou dost afflict{H6031}{(H8686)} them;

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Whan the heauen is shut vp, so that it rayne not (for so moch as they haue synned agaynst the) and yf they make their prayer in this place, and knowlege thy name, and turne from their synnes (whan thou hast brought them lowe)

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  When heauen shall be shut vp, and there shalbe no rayne, because they haue sinned against thee, and shall pray in this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou doest afflict them,

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  When heauen is shut vp, and there be no rayne, because they haue sinned against thee: yet if they pray in this place, and confesse thy name, and repent from their sinne for the which thou chastenest them:

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; [yet] if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you do afflict them:

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name -- from their sin they turn back because Thou dost afflict them --

• American Standard Version (1901)

  When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:

• American Standard Version (1901)

  When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you: if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:

• World English Bible (2000)

  "When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them:

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

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

Referenced Verses

• Lev 26:19 : 19 I will break your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze.
• Deut 11:17 : 17 Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no produce. Then you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.
• Deut 28:23 : 23 The heavens over your head will be like bronze, and the earth beneath you like iron.
• 1 Kgs 17:1-9 : 1 Elijah, the Tishbite from the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years, except by my word." 2 And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 "Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan." 4 "You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded ravens to provide for you there." 5 So he went and did as the word of the LORD directed him. He went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 But after a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Look, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he reached the city gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a vessel so I may drink." 11 As she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand as well." 12 But she replied, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked. I only have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a couple of sticks to go and prepare it for myself and my son so we may eat it and then die." 13 Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said, but first make a small cake for me from what you have and bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son." 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not run out, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the earth.' 15 She went and did according to what Elijah said, and she, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not used up, and the jug of oil did not run dry, as the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah had declared. 17 After this, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick. His illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 She said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, man of God? Have you come to bring my sin to remembrance and to kill my son?"
• 2 Chr 33:12-13 : 12 When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 He prayed to Him, and the LORD was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea. He brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.
• Prov 28:13 : 13 The one who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will find mercy.
• Isa 5:6 : 6 I will make it a wasteland; it will neither be pruned nor hoed, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.
• Isa 50:1-2 : 1 This is what the LORD says: Where is the certificate of divorce for your mother, whom I sent away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Behold, because of your sins, you were sold, and because of your transgressions, your mother was sent away. 2 Why, when I came, was there no one? Why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand too short to redeem? Do I have no power to save? Look, at my rebuke I dry up the sea; I turn rivers into a desert, so their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
• Jer 14:1-9 : 1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. 2 Judah mourns, and her gates languish; they sit on the ground in mourning, and the cry of Jerusalem rises up. 3 The nobles sent their servants for water; they went to the cisterns but found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and humiliated, covering their heads. 4 Because the ground is cracked due to the lack of rain in the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads. 5 Even the doe in the field abandons her newborn because there is no grass. 6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights, panting like jackals; their eyes fail because there is no vegetation. 7 Though our iniquities testify against us, LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You. 8 O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only for a night? 9 Why are You like a man stunned, like a warrior unable to save? Yet You are in our midst, LORD, and Your name is called upon us. Do not abandon us!
• Ezek 14:13 : 13 Son of man, if a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it, breaking its supply of bread, sending famine upon it, and cutting off from it both man and beast,
• Ezek 18:27-32 : 27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. 28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, they will surely live; they will not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 30 Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
• Hos 5:15-6:1 : 15 I will return to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face; in their distress they will earnestly seek me. 1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has struck us down, but He will bind us up.
• Joel 1:13-20 : 13 Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister to my God, for grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14 Declare a holy fast; proclaim a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. 15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty. 16 Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seeds shrivel beneath their clods, the storehouses are desolate, the granaries are broken down, for the grain has dried up. 18 How the cattle groan! The herds of livestock wander in confusion because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering. 19 To you, Lord, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have burned all the trees of the field. 20 Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
• Joel 2:15-17 : 15 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion! Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. 16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out from his chamber and the bride from her wedding canopy. 17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, 'Spare your people, LORD. Do not make your heritage an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, “Where is their God?”'
• Amos 4:4-9 : 4 Come to Bethel and transgress, go to Gilgal and multiply sins; bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three days. 5 Burn a thanksgiving offering with leaven, loudly proclaim your freewill offerings, for this is what you love to do, O people of Israel,' declares the Lord GOD. 6 I also gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to Me,' declares the LORD. 7 I withheld the rain from you when there were still three months until harvest. I caused it to rain on one city but not on another; one field received rain, while another withered due to lack of it. 8 People staggered from city to city for water but were not satisfied, yet you did not return to Me,' declares the LORD. 9 I struck you with blight and mildew; the locust devoured your many gardens, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,' declares the LORD.
• Luke 4:25 : 25 But I tell you the truth, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.
• Rev 11:6 : 6 They have authority to shut the sky so no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with any plague whenever they wish.