
Text -- Leviticus 26:41-46 (NET)




Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics



collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Wesley: Lev 26:41 - -- The meaning is, if they sincerely acknowledge the righteousness of God and their own wickedness, and patiently submit to his correcting hand; if with ...
The meaning is, if they sincerely acknowledge the righteousness of God and their own wickedness, and patiently submit to his correcting hand; if with David they are ready to say, it is good for them that they are afflicted, that they may learn God's statutes, and yield obedience to them for the future, which is a good evidence of true repentance.

Wesley: Lev 26:42 - -- So as to make good all that I have promised in it. For words of knowledge or remembrance in scripture, commonly denote affection and kindness.
So as to make good all that I have promised in it. For words of knowledge or remembrance in scripture, commonly denote affection and kindness.

Wesley: Lev 26:42 - -- Which now seems to be forgotten and despised, as if I had never chosen it to be the peculiar place of my presence and blessing.
Which now seems to be forgotten and despised, as if I had never chosen it to be the peculiar place of my presence and blessing.

Wesley: Lev 26:44 - -- Therefore neither the desperateness of their condition, nor the greatness of their sins, shall make me wholly make void my covenant with them and thei...
Therefore neither the desperateness of their condition, nor the greatness of their sins, shall make me wholly make void my covenant with them and their ancestors, but I will in due time remember them for good, and for my covenant's sake return to them in mercy. From this place the Jews take great comfort, and assure themselves of deliverance out of their present servitude and misery. And from this, and such other places, St. Paul concludes, that the Israelitish nation, tho' then rejected and ruined, should be gathered again and restored.

Wesley: Lev 26:46 - -- Hereby his communion with his church is kept up. He manifests not only his dominion over them, but his favour to them, by giving them his law. And the...
Hereby his communion with his church is kept up. He manifests not only his dominion over them, but his favour to them, by giving them his law. And they manifest not only their holy fear, but their holy love by the observance of it. And thus it is made between them rather as a covenant than as a law: for he draws them with the cords of a man.
JFB -> Lev 26:40-45; Lev 26:46
JFB: Lev 26:40-45 - -- This passage holds out the gracious promise of divine forgiveness and favor on their repentance, and their happy restoration to their land, in memory ...
This passage holds out the gracious promise of divine forgiveness and favor on their repentance, and their happy restoration to their land, in memory of the covenant made with their fathers (Rom. 2:1-29).

JFB: Lev 26:46 - -- It has been thought by some that the last chapter was originally placed after the twenty-fifth [ADAM CLARKE], while others consider that the next chap...
It has been thought by some that the last chapter was originally placed after the twenty-fifth [ADAM CLARKE], while others consider that the next chapter was added as an appendix, in consequence of many people being influenced by the promises and threats of the preceding one, to resolve that they would dedicate themselves and their possessions to the service of God [CALMET].
Clarke: Lev 26:44 - -- Neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly - Though God has literally fulfilled all his threatenings upon this people in dispossessing them o...
Neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly - Though God has literally fulfilled all his threatenings upon this people in dispossessing them of their land, destroying their polity, overturning their city, demolishing their temple, and scattering themselves over the face of the whole earth; yet he has, in his providence, strangely preserved them as a distinct people, and in very considerable numbers also. He still remembers the covenant of their ancestors, and in his providence and grace he has some very important design in their favor. All Israel shall yet be saved, and, with the Gentiles, they shall all be restored to his favor; and under Christ Jesus, the great Shepherd; become, with them, one grand everlasting fold.

Clarke: Lev 26:46 - -- These are the statutes, and judgments, etc. - See on Lev 26:15 (note). This verse appears to be the proper concluding verse of the whole book; and I...
These are the statutes, and judgments, etc. - See on Lev 26:15 (note). This verse appears to be the proper concluding verse of the whole book; and I rather think that the 27th chapter originally followed the 25th. As the law was anciently written upon skins of parchment, sheep or goat skins, pasted or stitched together, and all rolled up in one roll, the matter being written in columns, one of those columns might have been very easily displaced, and thus whole chapters might have been readily interchanged - It is likely that this might have been the case in the present instance. Others endeavor to solve this difficulty, by supposing that the 27th chapter was added after the book had been finished; and therefore there is apparently a double conclusion, one at the end of the 26th and the other at the end of the 27th chapter. However the above may have been, all the ancient versions agree in concluding both the chapters in nearly the same way; yet the 26th chapter must be allowed to be by far the most natural conclusion of the book. The most important points in this chapter have already been particularly noticed in the notes; and to those on the 15th, 34th, and 44th verses, the reader is especially referred. How unwilling is God to cast off his people! and yet how sure is their rejection if they refuse to obey and live to him! No nation has ever been so signally elected as the Jews; and yet no nation has ever been so signally and so awfully reprobated. O Britain, be not high-minded, but fear! Behold here the goodness and severity of God!
Calvin -> Lev 26:43
Calvin: Lev 26:43 - -- 43.The land also shall be left of them. He again refers to the punishment of banishment, which is equivalent to their being disinherited; and at the ...
43.The land also shall be left of them. He again refers to the punishment of banishment, which is equivalent to their being disinherited; and at the same time repeats that the worship of God could not be restored in the Holy Land, until it should be purified from their defilements; yet immediately afterwards He moderates this severity, inasmuch as, when He seemed to deal with them most rigorously, He still will not utterly cast them off. The verbs He uses 236 are in the past tense, though they have reference to the future; as much as to say, even then “they shall feel that they are not rejected.” He therefore stretches out His hand to them, as it were, in their miserable estate, to uplift them to confidence, and commands them, although afflicted with the extremity of trouble, nevertheless to put their trust in His Covenant. Herein His marvelous and inestimable goodness is displayed, in still retaining as His own those who are alienated from Him: thus, it is said in Hosea, (Hos 2:23,) “I will say to them that are not my people, Thou art my people.”
When He promises that He will remember His covenant “for their sakes,” He does not mean for their merit, or because they have acquired such a favor for themselves; but for their profit or salvation, in that the recollection of the Covenant shall extend even to them. Their deliverance (from Egypt) is also added in confirmation of the Covenant, as though He had said that He would be the more disposed to forgive them, not only because He always perseveres in His faithfulness to His promises, but because He would maintain His goodness towards them, and carry it on even to the end. Thus we see He refers the cause of His mercy only to Himself.
Defender -> Lev 26:44
Defender: Lev 26:44 - -- The chosen people of Israel have continued to exist as a distinct people for 3500 years despite being without a homeland for most of that period. This...
The chosen people of Israel have continued to exist as a distinct people for 3500 years despite being without a homeland for most of that period. This constitutes an amazing testimony to divine inspiration and fulfilled prophecy. Before they had even entered their promised land, God had warned them they would be scattered away from it if they disobeyed. They were, indeed, scattered among the heathen again and again; yet God refused to "destroy them utterly" or to "break my covenant with them" for He had made this promise to Abraham before they were born (Gen 17:4-8)."
TSK: Lev 26:41 - -- their uncircumcised : Deu 30:6; Jer 4:4, Jer 6:10, Jer 9:25, Jer 9:26; Eze 44:7; Act 7:51; Rom 2:28, Rom 2:29; Gal 5:6; Phi 3:3; Col 2:11
humbled : Ex...
their uncircumcised : Deu 30:6; Jer 4:4, Jer 6:10, Jer 9:25, Jer 9:26; Eze 44:7; Act 7:51; Rom 2:28, Rom 2:29; Gal 5:6; Phi 3:3; Col 2:11
humbled : Exo 10:3; 1Ki 21:29; 2Ch 12:6, 2Ch 12:7, 2Ch 12:12, 2Ch 32:26, 2Ch 33:12, 2Ch 33:13, 2Ch 33:19, 2Ch 33:23; Eze 6:9; Eze 20:43; Mat 23:12; Luk 14:11, Luk 18:14; Jam 4:6-9; 1Pe 5:5, 1Pe 5:6
and they : Ezr 9:13, Ezr 9:15; Neh 9:33; Psa 39:9, Psa 51:3, Psa 51:4; Dan 9:7-14, Dan 9:18, Dan 9:19

TSK: Lev 26:42 - -- will I : Gen 9:16; Exo 2:24, Exo 6:5; Deu 4:31; Psa 106:45; Eze 16:60; Luk 1:72
and I will : Psa 85:1, Psa 85:2, Psa 136:23; Eze 36:1-15, Eze 36:33, E...
will I : Gen 9:16; Exo 2:24, Exo 6:5; Deu 4:31; Psa 106:45; Eze 16:60; Luk 1:72
and I will : Psa 85:1, Psa 85:2, Psa 136:23; Eze 36:1-15, Eze 36:33, Eze 36:34; Joe 2:18

TSK: Lev 26:43 - -- shall enjoy : Lev 26:34, Lev 26:35
and they : Lev 26:41; 1Ki 8:46-48; 2Ch 33:12; Job 5:17, Job 34:31, Job 34:32; Psa 50:15; Psa 119:67, Psa 119:71, Ps...
shall enjoy : Lev 26:34, Lev 26:35
and they : Lev 26:41; 1Ki 8:46-48; 2Ch 33:12; Job 5:17, Job 34:31, Job 34:32; Psa 50:15; Psa 119:67, Psa 119:71, Psa 119:75; Isa 26:16; Jer 31:19; Dan 9:7-9, Dan 9:14; Heb 12:5-11
they despised : Lev 26:15; 2Ki 17:7-17; 2Ch 36:14-16
their soul : Lev 26:15, Lev 26:30; Psa 50:17; Amo 5:10; Zec 11:8; Joh 7:7, Joh 15:23, Joh 15:24; Rom 8:7

TSK: Lev 26:44 - -- I will : Deu 4:29-31; 2Ki 13:23; Neh 9:31; Psa 94:14; Eze 14:22, Eze 14:23; Rom 11:2, Rom 11:26
abhor : Lev 26:11
break : Psa 89:33; Jer 14:21, Jer 33...

TSK: Lev 26:45 - -- Exo 20:2
for their : Gen 12:2, Gen 15:18, Gen 17:7, Gen 17:8; Exo 2:24, Exo 19:5, Exo 19:6; Luk 1:72, Luk 1:73; Rom 11:12, Rom 11:23-26, Rom 11:28, Ro...

TSK: Lev 26:46 - -- As this verse appears to be the proper concluding verse of the whole book, Dr. A. Clarke thinks that the Lev 27:1 originally followed Lev 25:1. Other...
As this verse appears to be the proper concluding verse of the whole book, Dr. A. Clarke thinks that the Lev 27:1 originally followed Lev 25:1. Others suppose that the 27th chapter was added after the book was finished; and, therefore, there is apparently a double conclusion, one at the end of this, and another at the end of the 27th chapter. All the ancient versions agree in concluding both chapters in nearly the same way.
the statutes : Lev 27:34; Deu 6:1, Deu 12:1, Deu 13:4; Joh 1:17
in mount Sinai : Lev 25:1

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Lev 26:3-45
Barnes: Lev 26:3-45 - -- As "the book of the covenant"Exo. 20:22\endash 23:33 concludes with promises and warnings Exo 23:20-33, so does this collection of laws contained in...
As "the book of the covenant"Exo. 20:22\endash 23:33 concludes with promises and warnings Exo 23:20-33, so does this collection of laws contained in the Book of Leviticus. But the former passage relates to the conquest of the land of promise, this one to the subsequent history of the nation. The longer similar passage in Deuteronomy Deut. 27\endash 30 is marked by broader and deeper promises and denunciations having immediate reference not only to outward consequences, but to the spiritual death incurred by transgressing the divine will.
Rain in due season - The periodical rains, on which the fertility of the holy land so much depends, are here spoken of. There are two wet seasons, called in Scripture the former and the latter rain Deu 11:14; Jer 5:24; Joe 2:23; Hos 6:3; Jam 5:7. The former or Autumn rain falls in heavy showers in November and December. In March the latter or Spring rain comes on, which is precarious in quantity and duration, and rarely lasts more than two days.
Compare the margin reference; Joe 2:19; Job 11:18.
Five of you shall chase - A proverbial mode of expression for superiority in warlike prowess Deu 32:30; Isa 30:17.
Establish my covenant - All material blessings were to be regarded in the light of seals of the "everlasting covenant."Compare Gen 17:4-8; Neh 9:23.
Bring forth the old because of the new - Rather, clear away the old before the new; that is, in order to make room for the latter. Compare the margin reference.
The first warning for disobedience is disease. "Terror"(literally trembling) is rendered trouble in Psa 78:33; Isa 65:23. It seems here to denote that terrible affliction, an anxious temperament, the mental state ever at war with Faith and Hope. This might well be placed at the head of the visitations on a backslider who had broken the covenant with his God. Compare Deu 32:25; Jer 15:8; Pro 28:1; Job 24:17; Psa 23:4.
Consumption, and the burning ague - Compare the margin reference. The first of the words in the original comes from a root signifying to waste away; the latter (better, fever), from one signifying to kindle a fire. Consumption is common in Egypt and some parts of Asia Minor, but it is more rare in Syria. Fevers of different kinds are the commonest of all diseases in Syria and all the neighboring countries. The opposite promise to the threat is given in Exo 15:26; Exo 23:25.
For all this - i. e. for all the afflictions in Lev 26:16-17.
Seven times - The sabbatical number is here proverbially used to remind the people of the covenant. Compare Gen 4:15, Gen 4:24; Psa 119:164; Pro 24:16; Luk 17:4.
The second warning is utter sterility of the soil. Compare Deu 11:17; Deu 28:18; Eze 33:28; Eze 36:34-35.
The third warning is the multiplication of destructive animals, etc. Compare Deu 32:24; Eze 5:17; Eze 14:15; Jdg 5:6-7; Isa 33:8.
The fourth warning. Yahweh now places Himself as it were in a hostile position toward His people who "will not be reformed"(rather, brought unto God: Jer 2:30). He will avenge the outraged cause of His covenant, by the sword, pestilence, famine, and captivity.
Omit "and.""To break the staff of bread,"was a proverbial expression for cutting off the supply of bread, the staff of life (Psa 105:16; Eze 4:16; Eze 5:16; Eze 14:13; compare Isa 3:1). The supply was to be so reduced that one oven would suffice for baking the bread maple by ten women for ten families, and when made it was to be dealt out in sparing rations by weight. See 2Ki 6:25; Jer 14:18; Lam 4:9; Eze 5:12; Hos 4:10; Mic 6:14; Hag 1:6.
The fifth warning. For Lev 26:29 see 2Ki 6:28-29; Jer 19:8-9; Lam 2:20; Lam 4:10; Eze 5:10, for Lev 26:30 see 2Ch 34:3; Eze 6:4; Jer 14:19, for Lev 26:31 see 2Ki 25:9; Psa 74:6-7 : for Lev 26:32-33 see Deu 28:37; Psa 44:11; Jer 9:16; Jer 18:16; Ezek. 5:1-17; Jer 4:7; Eze 9:6; Eze 12:15; Zec 7:14.
High places - There is no doubt that the word here denotes elevated spots dedicated to false worship (see Deu 12:2), and especially, it would seem, to that of Baal Num 22:41; Jos 13:17. Such spots were, however, employed and approved for the worship of Yahweh, not only before the building of the temple, but afterward (Jdg 6:25-26; Jdg 13:16-23; 1Sa 7:10; 1Sa 16:5; 1Ki 3:2; 1Ki 18:30; 2Ki 12:3; 1Ch 21:26, etc.). The three altars built by Abraham at Shechem, between Bethel and Ai, and at Mamre, appear to have been on heights, and so was the temple.
The high places in the holy land may thus have been divided into those dedicated to the worship of Yahweh, and those which had been dedicated to idols. And it would seem as if there was a constant struggle going on. The high places polluted by idol worship were of course to be wholly condemned. They were probably resorted to only to gratify a degraded superstition. See Lev 19:31; Lev 20:2-5. The others might have been innocently used for prayer and religious teaching. But the temptation appears to have been too great for the temper of the people. They offered sacrifice and burnt incense on them; and hence, thorough reformers of the national religion, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, removed the high places altogether 2Ki 18:4; 2Ki 23:5.
Your images - The original word is rendered in the margin of our Bible sun images (2Ch 14:5; Isa 17:8; Eze 6:4, etc.). Phoenician inscriptions prove that the word was commonly applied to images of Baal and Astarte, the god of the sun and the goddess of the moon. This exactly explains 2Ch 34:4 following.
Idols - The Hebrew word here literally means things which could be rolled about, such as a block of wood or a lump of dirt. It was no doubt a name given in derision. Compare Isa 40:20; Isa 44:19; 2Ki 1:2.
Sanctuaries - The holy places in the tabernacle and the temple (Psa 68:35. Compare Psa 74:7).
I will not smell the savor ... - See Lev 1:9.
More literally: All the days of its desolation shall it rest that time which it rested not in your Sabbaths while ye dwelt upon it. That is, the periods of rest of which the land had been deprived would be made up to it. Compare 2Ch 36:20-21.
The land of your enemies shall eat you up - Compare Num 13:32; Eze 36:13.
Iniquity - The meaning here is, in the punishment of their iniquity, and, in the next clause, in the punishment of the iniquity (as in Lev 26:41, Lev 26:43) of their fathers. In the next verse the same Hebrew word is properly represented by "iniquity."Our translators have in several places put one of the English words in the text and the other in the margin (Gen 4:13; Gen 19:15; 2Ki 7:9; Psa 69:27, etc.). The language of Scripture does not make that trenchant division between sin and punishment which we are accustomed to do. Sin is its own punishment, having in itself, from its very commencement, the germ of death. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death"Jam 1:15; Rom 2:5; Rom 5:12.
trespass - The Hebrew word signifies an injury inflicted on the rights of a person, as distinguished from a sin or iniquity regarded as an outrage of the divine law. Every wrong act is of course both a sin and a trespass against God. In this place Yahweh takes the breach of the covenant as a personal trespass.
Uncircumcised hearts - The outward sign of the covenant might be preserved, but the answering grace in the heart would be wanting (Act 7:51; Rom 2:28-29; Jer 6:10; Jer 9:26; compare Col 2:11).
Accept of the punishment of their iniquity - literally, enjoy their iniquity. The word here and in Lev 26:43 rendered "accept"in this phrase, is the same as is rendered "enjoy"in the expression "the land shall enjoy her sabbaths"Lev 26:34. The antithesis in Lev 26:43 is this: The land shall enjoy her sabbaths - and they shall enjoy the punishment of their iniquity. The meaning is, that the land being desolate shall have the blessing of rest, and they having repented shall have the blessing of chastisement. The feelings of a devout captive Israelite are beautifully expressed in Tobit 13:1-18.
Poole: Lev 26:41 - -- The Hebrew word avou commonly signifies iniquity , but it is oft used for
the punishment of iniquity as here and 1Sa 28:10 Psa 31:10 Isa 53:6,1...
The Hebrew word avou commonly signifies iniquity , but it is oft used for
the punishment of iniquity as here and 1Sa 28:10 Psa 31:10 Isa 53:6,11 . The meaning is, if they sincerely acknowledge the righteousness of God, and their own wickedness, and patiently submit to his correcting hand, and would rather be in their present suffering condition than in their former sinful, though prosperous estate; if with David they are ready to say, it is good for them that they are afflicted, that they may learn God’ s statutes , and obedience to them for the future, which is a good evidence of true repentance.

Poole: Lev 26:42 - -- I will remember my covenant to wit, so as to perform it, and make good all that I have promised in it. For words of knowledge or remembrance in Scrip...
I will remember my covenant to wit, so as to perform it, and make good all that I have promised in it. For words of knowledge or remembrance in Scripture do most commonly connote affection and kindness; of which there are many instances, some given before, and more hereafter.
I will remember the land which now seems to be forgotten, and neglected, and despised, as if I had never chosen it to be the peculiar place of my presence and blessing.

Poole: Lev 26:44 - -- Neither the desperateness of their condition, nor the greatness of their sins, shall make me wholly make void my covenant with them and their ancest...
Neither the desperateness of their condition, nor the greatness of their sins, shall make me wholly make void my covenant with them and their ancestors, but I will in due time remember them for good, and for my covenant’ s sake return to them in mercy. From this place the Jews take great comfort, and assure themselves of deliverance out of their present servitude and misery. And from this, and such other places, St. Paul concludes that the Israelitish nation, though then rejected and ruined, should be gathered again and restored.

Poole: Lev 26:45 - -- For their sakes or rather, to or for them, i.e. for their good or benefit; for surely, if one considers what is said before concerning the wicked...
For their sakes or rather, to or for them, i.e. for their good or benefit; for surely, if one considers what is said before concerning the wickedness of this people, he cannot say this deliverance was given them for their sakes, but must rather say with the prophet, Eze 36:22,32 , not for your sake, O house of Israel , &c.
Haydock: Lev 26:41 - -- Mind. Hebrew, "heart," wicked, rebellious, and unclean. (Menochius) ---
Pray for. Hebrew and Syriac, "please themselves in," &c. They shall see...
Mind. Hebrew, "heart," wicked, rebellious, and unclean. (Menochius) ---
Pray for. Hebrew and Syriac, "please themselves in," &c. They shall see what advantage they have derived from their sins. (Calmet) ---
Then they shall enter into themselves, like the prodigal son. (Haydock)

Haydock: Lev 26:42 - -- Jacob is placed first because he was the father of no other nation; as Abraham and Isaac were. (Worthington)
Jacob is placed first because he was the father of no other nation; as Abraham and Isaac were. (Worthington)

Haydock: Lev 26:44 - -- I did not. He speaks of a future event, which he sees will certainly come to pass, as if it had already happened. As God had preserved his people, ...
I did not. He speaks of a future event, which he sees will certainly come to pass, as if it had already happened. As God had preserved his people, in Egypt, conformably to his covenant with the patriarchs, so he will be reconciled to them, after they shall have done penance, and acknowledged all their excesses, in the captivity of Babylon. (Haydock) ---
The church never ceases all together. (Worthington)

Haydock: Lev 26:45 - -- Moses. What has been hitherto recorded, was mostly prescribed by God at Mount Sinai, as some of the following laws were also. (Calmet) ---
It woul...
Moses. What has been hitherto recorded, was mostly prescribed by God at Mount Sinai, as some of the following laws were also. (Calmet) ---
It would seem as if this were the conclusion of Leviticus. We must remember, however, that these divisions were not introduced by Moses, as he wrote his five books without any interruption, like one verse. So St. John seems to conclude his Gospel, (chap. xx. 31.) though he afterwards adds another chapter. (Haydock)
Gill: Lev 26:41 - -- And that I also have walked contrary unto them,.... Showed no regard unto them, as if he took no care of them, or in a providential way concerned him...
And that I also have walked contrary unto them,.... Showed no regard unto them, as if he took no care of them, or in a providential way concerned himself for them, but let what would befall them; yea, came out in the way of his judgments against them, as if he was an enemy to them; see Gill on Lev 26:24,
and have brought them into the land of their enemies; should acknowledge the hand of God in it, that he himself brought them out of their own country into an enemy's land, as Assyria, Babylon, and other nations: and that this was not the chance of war, or owing to the superior power or skill of their enemies, but to the just judgment of God upon them for their sins, who on that account delivered them up into the hands of their enemies:
if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled; their foolish proud heart, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; it signifies a sinful, wicked, hard, and impenitent heart, brought to a sense of sin, to repentance and humiliation for it. Jarchi interprets it, "or if their uncircumcised heart", &c. as in Exo 2:23; and observes another sense of the word, "perhaps their uncircumcised heart", &c. not only would in words confess their sins, but be truly humbled at heart for them:
and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity; take it well at the hand of God, bear it patiently without murmuring, or thinking themselves hardly dealt by, but freely owning it is less than their iniquities deserve; or complete and finish the punishment of their sins, as Aben Ezra, which upon their humiliation should be put an end to, and cease. Jarchi takes the word in the sense of atonement and pacification, as if by their chastisement their sins were expiated d, and God was pacified toward them: but rather it denotes the free and full pardon of their sins, manifested to them upon their repentance and humiliation for sin.

Gill: Lev 26:42 - -- Then i will also remember my covenant with Jacob,.... Would fulfil and make good all that he had promised in covenant with Jacob, and his posterity: t...
Then i will also remember my covenant with Jacob,.... Would fulfil and make good all that he had promised in covenant with Jacob, and his posterity: the account begins with him, and rises upwards to Abraham, whereas it usually begins with Abraham, and descends to Jacob; no sufficient reason is given for this alteration, though several are attempted by the Jewish writers e:
and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; which chiefly respects the multiplication of their seed, the continuance of them, and the Messiah springing from them; which is the mercy promised to these fathers, and the principal part of the covenant made with them, and which was remembered and performed when God visited and redeemed his people by him, Luk 1:68,
and I will remember the land; the land of Judea, and return the Jews to it, and make it fruitful, after he had given it rest from tillage for many years, which was fulfilled at their return from the captivity of Babylon.

Gill: Lev 26:43 - -- The land also shall be left of them,.... This seems to refer to a second time, when this should be the case of the land of Judea again, as it was when...
The land also shall be left of them,.... This seems to refer to a second time, when this should be the case of the land of Judea again, as it was when subdued by the Romans, and the Jews were carried captive from it, and so it was left by them, as it has been ever since:
and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while lieth desolate without them; shall be as in the sabbatical years, uncultivated, neither ploughed nor sown, nor reaped; and thus the land of Canaan, though once so very fruitful, is now desolate and barren, being without its former inhabitants, and so it is like to be until it is restored to them again:
and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; that is, when made sensible of their sins, and particularly of their iniquity of rejecting the Messiah; they will not think it hard that they have been punished in so severe a manner, but own the righteous hand of God in it, and be humble under it; and confessing their sins with true sorrow and repentance for them, looking at him whom they have pierced, and mourn, shall have the free and full remission of their sins applied unto them:
because, even, because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes; despised and abhorred Christ, his doctrines and ordinances, which was the reason of their being carried captive out of their land, when it was forsaken by them, and lay desolate as to this day, especially with respect to any benefit of it enjoyed by them; and which, when they are sensible of, will be a reason of their accepting the punishment of their iniquity so readily, and not murmur at the hand of God upon them, or reflect on his dealings with them, but freely and fully confess their sins, that he may be justified in all that he has done.

Gill: Lev 26:44 - -- And yet for all that,.... I will have on them, in or through my Word, as the Targum of Jonathan; notwithstanding their many and great sins and transgr...
And yet for all that,.... I will have on them, in or through my Word, as the Targum of Jonathan; notwithstanding their many and great sins and transgressions, and the sad and miserable condition they were brought into by them, the Lord would have mercy on them and be gracious to them, through Christ and for his sake, and convert and save them, see Rom 11:26; the Jews, as Fagius tells us, wonderfully delight themselves with this passage, and read it with the greatest joy and pleasure, and with an elevated voice; concluding from hence that they shall certainly return to their own land; and because the first word in this verse is in sound the same as the Germans use for an "ape", they call this paragraph "the golden ape", and say, when this shall be fulfilled the golden age will take place with them: a very learned man f has wrote a dissertation upon it: when
they shall be in the land of their enemies; of the Romans and other nations, among whom they have been disposed ever since the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus:
I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly; for though they have been cast away by the Lord out of their land, and from being his people, and enjoying either the civil or religious privileges they formerly did; and though they have been cast off with abhorrence, and had in great detestation by him, for their sin of rejecting the Messiah, as appears by the punishment inflicted on them; yet not so as to make an utter end of them as a body of people, for, notwithstanding their dispersion everywhere, and their long captivity, they remain a distinct people from all others, which seems to forebode something favourable to them:
and to break my covenant with them; which he will not do, even his promise of the future call and conversion of them, and of their return to their own land:
for I am the Lord their God; their covenant God, and a covenant keeping God, Rom 11:27.

Gill: Lev 26:45 - -- But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors,.... Or rather, "remember to them" g, to their good and benefit, for their profit ...
But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors,.... Or rather, "remember to them" g, to their good and benefit, for their profit and advantage, not for their desert and merit, for any worth or worthiness in them; this covenant respects not the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as in Lev 26:42; but with their fathers, either at Sinai, or rather in the plains of Moab, Deu 29:1, for it follows:
whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the Heathen, that I might be their God; whom he brought out of great bondage and distress in Egypt, with an high hand and outstretched arm, and in the sight of the Egyptians, who were not able to oppose it, yea, because of their plagues, were urgent for it; and in the sight of all the nations round about, who heard of the wonderful power of God in the deliverance of his people; and this he did that he might appear to be their covenant God, who had taken them into covenant with him, and had taken them under his care and protection, and would be still their King and their God; and who also, in like manner, it may be here suggested, would deliver the people of the Jews out of their present exiled and captive state and condition in the sight of the whole world, and declare himself their covenant God and Father:
I am the Lord; whose will is sovereign, whose power is uncontrollable, who is a covenant keeping God, faithful to his promises, and able to perform them.

Gill: Lev 26:46 - -- These are the statutes, and judgments, and laws,.... Which refer not only to those in this chapter, but in all the preceding chapters in this book, a...
These are the statutes, and judgments, and laws,.... Which refer not only to those in this chapter, but in all the preceding chapters in this book, and respect them all, whether ceremonial, moral, or judicial, which may be signified by these three words:
which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel; the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,"between his Word and the children of Israel:"
in Mount Sinai; or near it, in the wilderness of it, while the children of Israel lay encamped about it:
by the hand of Moses; they were first delivered to him, and by means of him to the people.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Lev 26:41 Heb “and then they make up for.” On the verb “make up for” see the note on v. 34 above.

NET Notes: Lev 26:42 Heb “my covenant with Abraham I will remember.” The phrase “I will remember” has not been repeated in the translation for styl...


NET Notes: Lev 26:45 For similar expressions referring back to the ancestors who refused to follow the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant see, for example, Deut 19:14, Je...

Geneva Bible: Lev 26:43 ( u ) The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishmen...

Geneva Bible: Lev 26:45 But I will for their sakes remember the ( x ) covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, ...

Geneva Bible: Lev 26:46 These [are] the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount ( y ) Sinai by the hand of Moses....

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Lev 26:1-46
TSK Synopsis: Lev 26:1-46 - --1 Of idolatry.2 Religiousness.3 A blessing to them that keep the commandments.14 A curse to those that break them.40 God promises to remember them tha...
MHCC -> Lev 26:40-46
MHCC: Lev 26:40-46 - --Among the Israelites, persons were not always prosperous or afflicted according to their obedience or disobedience. But national prosperity was the ef...
Matthew Henry -> Lev 26:40-46
Matthew Henry: Lev 26:40-46 - -- Here the chapter concludes with gracious promises of the return of God's favour to them upon their repentance, that they might not (unless it were t...
Keil-Delitzsch: Lev 26:40-43 - --
In this state of pining away under their enemies, they would confess to themselves their own and their fathers' sins, i.e., would make the discovery...

Keil-Delitzsch: Lev 26:44 - --
"And yet, even with regard to this, when they shall be in the land of their enemies, have I not despised them."That is to say, if it shall have come...

Keil-Delitzsch: Lev 26:45 - --
He would therefore remember the covenant with the forefathers, whom He had brought out of Egypt before the eyes of the nations, to be a God to them;...

Keil-Delitzsch: Lev 26:46 - --
Lev 26:46 contains the close of the entire book, or rather of the whole of the covenant legislation from Ex 25 onwards, although the expression "in ...
Constable: Lev 17:1--27:34 - --II. The private worship of the Israelites chs. 17--27
The second major division of Leviticus deals with how the ...

Constable: Lev 26:1-46 - --G. PROMISES AND WARNINGS ch. 26
"In the ancient Near East it was customary for legal treaties to conclud...
