Leviticus 26:14-46

The Consequences of Disobedience

26:14 “‘If, however, ¹  you do not obey me and keep ²  all these commandments – 26:15 if you reject my statutes and abhor my regulations so that you do not keep ³  all my commandments and you break my covenant – 26:16 I for my part ⁴  will do this to you: I will inflict horror on you, consumption and fever, which diminish eyesight and drain away the vitality of life. ⁵  You will sow your seed in vain because ⁶  your enemies will eat it. ⁷  26:17 I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you.

26:18 “‘If, in spite of all these things, ⁸  you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins. ⁹  26:19 I will break your strong pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze. 26:20 Your strength will be used up in vain, your land will not give its yield, and the trees of the land ¹⁰  will not produce their fruit.

26:21 “‘If you walk in hostility against me ¹¹  and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction ¹²  seven times according to your sins. 26:22 I will send the wild animals ¹³  against you and they will bereave you of your children, ¹⁴  annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population ¹⁵  so that your roads will become deserted.

26:23 “‘If in spite of these things ¹⁶  you do not allow yourselves to be disciplined and you walk in hostility against me, ¹⁷  26:24 I myself will also walk in hostility against you and strike you ¹⁸  seven times on account of your sins. 26:25 I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. ¹⁹  Although ²⁰  you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands. ²¹  26:26 When I break off your supply of bread, ²²  ten women will bake your bread in one oven; they will ration your bread by weight, ²³  and you will eat and not be satisfied.

26:27 “‘If in spite of this ²⁴  you do not obey me but walk in hostility against me, ²⁵  26:28 I will walk in hostile rage against you ²⁶  and I myself will also discipline you seven times on account of your sins. 26:29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. ²⁷  26:30 I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, ²⁸  and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. ²⁹  I will abhor you. ³⁰  26:31 I will lay your cities waste ³¹  and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas. 26:32 I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled. 26:33 I will scatter you among the nations and unsheathe the sword ³²  after you, so your land will become desolate and your cities will become a waste.

26:34 “‘Then the land will make up for ³³  its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land will rest and make up its Sabbaths. 26:35 All the days of the desolation it will have the rest it did not have ³⁴  on your Sabbaths when you lived on it.

26:36 “‘As for ³⁵  the ones who remain among you, I will bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a blowing leaf will pursue them, and they will flee as one who flees the sword and fall down even though there is no pursuer. 26:37 They will stumble over each other as those who flee before a sword, though ³⁶  there is no pursuer, and there will be no one to take a stand ³⁷  for you before your enemies. 26:38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you.

Restoration through Confession and Repentance

26:39 “‘As for the ones who remain among you, they will rot away because of ³⁸  their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and they will also rot away because of their ancestors’ ³⁹  iniquities which are with them. 26:40 However, when ⁴⁰  they confess their iniquity and their ancestors’ iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, ⁴¹  by which they also walked ⁴²  in hostility against me ⁴³  26:41 (and I myself will walk in hostility against them and bring them into the land of their enemies), and ⁴⁴  then their uncircumcised hearts become humbled and they make up for ⁴⁵  their iniquity, 26:42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, ⁴⁶  and I will remember the land. 26:43 The land will be abandoned by them ⁴⁷  in order that it may make up for ⁴⁸  its Sabbaths while it is made desolate ⁴⁹  without them, ⁵⁰  and they will make up for their iniquity because ⁵¹  they have rejected my regulations and have abhorred ⁵²  my statutes. 26:44 In spite of this, however, when they are in the land of their enemies I will not reject them and abhor them to make a complete end of them, to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 26:45 I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors ⁵³  whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

Summary Colophon

26:46 These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established ⁵⁴  between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through ⁵⁵  Moses.

Lamentations 2:17

ע (Ayin)

2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled ⁵⁶  his promise ⁵⁷ 

that he threatened ⁵⁸  long ago: ⁵⁹ 

He has overthrown you without mercy ⁶⁰ 

and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;

he has exalted your adversaries’ power. ⁶¹ 

Daniel 9:11-13

9:11 “All Israel has broken ⁶²  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ⁶³  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ⁶⁴  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ⁶⁵  9:12 He has carried out his threats ⁶⁶  against us and our rulers ⁶⁷  who were over ⁶⁸  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ⁶⁹  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ⁷⁰  from your reliable moral standards. ⁷¹ 

Malachi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ⁷²  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ⁷³  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Romans 2:8-9

2:8 but ⁷⁴  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ⁷⁵  and do not obey the truth but follow ⁷⁶  unrighteousness. 2:9 There will be ⁷⁷  affliction and distress on everyone ⁷⁸  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ⁷⁹ 

[26:14]  ¹ tn Heb “And if.”

[26:14]  ² tn Heb “and do not do.”

[26:15]  ³ tn Heb “to not do.”

[26:16]  ⁴ tn Or “I also” (see HALOT 76 s.v. אַף 6.b).

[26:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “soul.” These expressions may refer either to the physical effects of consumption and fever as the rendering in the text suggests (e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 452, 454, “diminishing eyesight and loss of appetite”), or perhaps the more psychological effects, “which exhausts the eyes” because of anxious hope “and causes depression” (Heb “causes soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] to pine away”), e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 185.

[26:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have causal force here.

[26:16]  ⁷ tn That is, “your enemies will eat” the produce that grows from the sown seed.

[26:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “And if until these.”

[26:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will add to discipline you seven [times] on your sins.”

[26:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the tree of the land will not give its fruit.” The collective singular has been translated as a plural. Tg. Onq., some medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “the field” as in v. 4, rather than “the land.”

[26:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hostile with me,” but see the added preposition בְּ (bet) on the phrase “in hostility” in v. 24 and 27.

[26:21]  ¹² tn Heb “your blow, stroke”; cf. TEV “punishment”; NLT “I will inflict you with seven more disasters.”

[26:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “the animal of the field.” This collective singular has been translated as a plural. The expression “animal of the field” refers to a wild (i.e., nondomesticated) animal.

[26:22]  ¹⁴ tn The words “of your children” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[26:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and diminish you.”

[26:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And if in these.”

[26:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “with me,” but see the added preposition בְּ (bet) on the phrase “in hostility” in vv. 24 and 27.

[26:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I myself will also strike you.”

[26:25]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “vengeance of covenant”; cf. NAB “the avenger of my covenant.”

[26:25]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has a concessive force in this context.

[26:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “in hand of enemy,” but Tg. Ps.-J. and Tg. Neof. have “in the hands of your enemies” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 454).

[26:26]  ²² tn Heb “When I break to you staff of bread” (KJV, ASV, and NASB all similar).

[26:26]  ²³ tn Heb “they will return your bread in weight.”

[26:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And if in this.”

[26:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “with me.”

[26:28]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in rage of hostility with you”; NASB “with wrathful hostility”; NRSV “I will continue hostile to you in fury”; CEV “I’ll get really furious.”

[26:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.” The phrase “you will eat” has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:30]  ²⁸ sn Regarding these cultic installations, see the remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 188, and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:903. The term rendered “incense altars” might better be rendered “sanctuaries [of foreign deities]” or “stelae.”

[26:30]  ²⁹ tn The translation reflects the Hebrew wordplay “your corpses…the corpses of your idols.” Since idols, being lifeless, do not really have “corpses,” the translation uses “dead bodies” for people and “lifeless bodies” for the idols.

[26:30]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and my soul will abhor you.”

[26:31]  ³¹ tn Heb “And I will give your cities a waste”; NLT “make your cities desolate.”

[26:33]  ³² tn Heb “and I will empty sword” (see HALOT 1228 s.v. ריק 3).

[26:34]  ³³ tn There are two Hebrew roots רָצָה (ratsah), one meaning “to be pleased with; to take pleasure” (HALOT 1280-81 s.v. רצה; cf. “enjoy” in NASB, NIV, NRSV, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 452), and the other meaning “to restore” (HALOT 1281-82 s.v. II רצה; cf. NAB “retrieve” and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 189).

[26:35]  ³⁴ tn Heb “it shall rest which it did not rest.”

[26:36]  ³⁵ tn Heb “And.”

[26:37]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is used in a concessive sense here.

[26:37]  ³⁷ tn The term rendered “to stand up” is a noun, not an infinitive. It occurs only here and appears to designate someone who would take a powerful stand for them against their enemies.

[26:39]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in” (so KJV, ASV; also later in this verse).

[26:39]  ³⁹ tn Heb “fathers’” (also in the following verse).

[26:40]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “And.” Many English versions take this to be a conditional clause (“if…”) though there is no conditional particle (see, e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV; but see the very different rendering in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 190). The temporal translation offered here (“when”) takes into account the particle אָז (’az, “then”), which occurs twice in v. 41. The obvious contextual contrast between vv. 39 and 40 is expressed by “however” in the translation.

[26:40]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “in their trespassing which they trespassed in me.” See the note on Lev 5:15, although the term is used in a more technical sense there in relation to the “guilt offering.”

[26:40]  ⁴² tn Heb “and also which they walked.”

[26:40]  ⁴³ tn Heb “with me.”

[26:41]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “or then,” although the LXX has “then” and the Syriac “and then.”

[26:41]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and then they make up for.” On the verb “make up for” see the note on v. 34 above.

[26:42]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “my covenant with Abraham I will remember.” The phrase “I will remember” has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:43]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “from them.” The preposition “from” refers here to the agent of the action (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 455).

[26:43]  ⁴⁸ tn The jussive form of the verb with the simple vav (ו) here calls for a translation that expresses purpose.

[26:43]  ⁴⁹ tn The verb is the Hophal infinitive construct with the third feminine singular suffix (GKC 182 §67.y; cf. v. 34).

[26:43]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “from them.”

[26:43]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “because and in because,” a double expression, which is used only here and in Ezek 13:10 (without the vav) for emphasis (GKC 492 §158.b).

[26:43]  ⁵² tn Heb “and their soul has abhorred.”

[26:45]  ⁵³ tn Heb “covenant of former ones.”

[26:46]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “gave” (so NLT); KJV, ASV, NCV “made.”

[26:46]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “by the hand of” (so KJV).

[2:17]  ⁵⁶ tn The verb בָּצַע (batsa’) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.

[2:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsa’, “to fulfill,” see previous tn), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (’imrah) means “promise.”

[2:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.

[2:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “from days of old.”

[2:17]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas vÿlo’ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (vÿlo’ khamal) alludes to 2:2.

[2:17]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.

[9:11]  ⁶² tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ⁶³ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “him.”

[9:12]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “who judged.”

[9:13]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[2:2]  ⁷² tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

[2:2]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

[2:8]  ⁷⁴ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[2:9]  ⁷⁷ tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”

[2:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ⁷⁹ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.