2 Chronicles 20:9

‘If disaster comes upon us—whether sword or judgment, plague or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your Name is in this temple. We will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear us and save us.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Judah’s representatives address God in the temple court while confronting an imminent coalition threat from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (2 Chronicles 20:10). They speak as a community acknowledging prior divine promises regarding the sanctuary (2 Chronicles 20:8).

The words — The conditional particle אִם־ ('im-) = if frames the entire appeal as a hypothetical vow, while רָעָה (ra'ah) = calamity functions as the umbrella term for the listed disasters. This lexical structure presents the prayer as a conditional commitment to seek God rather than a guaranteed transaction.

The thread — The linkage between national distress and temple-based intercession recurs in Solomon’s dedication prayer (2 Chronicles 6:28; 1 Kings 8:33; 2 Chronicles 6:20). These passages establish a consistent biblical pattern where calamity triggers corporate return to the place designated for God’s Name.

Why it lands — The text states that standing before the temple and crying out in distress will result in divine hearing and salvation. It asks the reader to treat corporate prayer as a deliberate, conditional response to crisis rather than a spontaneous emotional outburst.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 6:28 When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemies besiege them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,
1 Kings 8:33 When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading with You in this temple,
2 Chronicles 6:20 May Your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your Name, so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
Exodus 20:24 You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
1 Kings 8:37 When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”
Exodus 23:21 Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.