Promise of Blessing and Retribution(A)

26 ‘You shall (B)not make idols for yourselves;

neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves;

nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it;

for I am the Lord your God.

(C)You shall [a]keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary:

I am the Lord.

(D)‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,

(E)then I will give you rain in its season, (F)the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

(G)Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing;

you shall eat your bread to the full, and (H)dwell in your land safely.

(I)I will give peace in the land, and (J)you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;

I will rid the land of (K)evil[b] beasts,

and (L)the sword will not go through your land.

You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.

(M)Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;

your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

‘For I will (N)look on you favorably and (O)make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My (P)covenant with you.

10 You shall eat the (Q)old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.

11 (R)I will set My [c]tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.

12 (S)I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves;

I have broken the bands of your (T)yoke and made you walk [d]upright.

14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,

15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant,

16 I also will do this to you:

I will even appoint terror over you, (U)wasting disease and fever which shall (V)consume the eyes and (W)cause sorrow of heart.

And (X)you shall sow your seed [e]in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

17 I will [f]set (Y)My face against you, and (Z)you shall be defeated by your enemies.

(AA)Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall (AB)flee when no one pursues you.

18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you (AC)seven times more for your sins.

19 I will (AD)break the pride of your power;

I (AE)will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.

20 And your (AF)strength shall be spent in vain;

for your (AG)land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.

22 (AH)I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number;

and (AI)your highways shall be desolate.

23 ‘And if (AJ)by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me,

24 (AK)then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

25 And (AL)I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant;

when you are gathered together within your cities (AM)I will send pestilence among you;

and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

26 (AN)When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, (AO)and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

27 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,

28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury;

and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 (AP)You[g] shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.

30 (AQ)I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols;

and My soul shall abhor you.

31 I will lay your (AR)cities waste and (AS)bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not (AT)smell the fragrance of your [h]sweet aromas.

32 (AU)I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it.

33 (AV)I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you;

your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.

34 (AW)Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land;

then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.

35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—

for the time it did not rest on your (AX)sabbaths when you dwelt in it.

36 ‘And as for those of you who are left, I will send (AY)faintness[i] into their hearts in the lands of their enemies;

the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee;

they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.

37 (AZ)They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues;

and (BA)you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

38 You shall (BB)perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

39 And those of you who are left (BC)shall [j]waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands;

also in their (BD)fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.

40 But (BE)if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies;

if their (BF)uncircumcised hearts are (BG)humbled, and they (BH)accept their guilt—

42 then I will (BI)remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember;

I will (BJ)remember the land.

43 (BK)The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them;

they will accept their guilt, because they (BL)despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes.

44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, (BM)I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them;

for I am the Lord their God.

45 But (BN)for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, (BO)whom I brought out of the land of Egypt (BP)in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God:

I am the Lord.’ ”

46 (BQ)These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel (BR)on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 26:2 observe
  2. Leviticus 26:6 wild beasts
  3. Leviticus 26:11 dwelling place
  4. Leviticus 26:13 erect
  5. Leviticus 26:16 without profit
  6. Leviticus 26:17 oppose you
  7. Leviticus 26:29 In time of famine
  8. Leviticus 26:31 pleasing
  9. Leviticus 26:36 fear
  10. Leviticus 26:39 rot away

Reward for Obedience

26 “‘Do not make idols(A) or set up an image(B) or a sacred stone(C) for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone(D) in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

“‘Observe my Sabbaths(E) and have reverence for my sanctuary.(F) I am the Lord.

“‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey(G) my commands, I will send you rain(H) in its season,(I) and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.(J) Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want(K) and live in safety in your land.(L)

“‘I will grant peace in the land,(M) and you will lie down(N) and no one will make you afraid.(O) I will remove wild beasts(P) from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies,(Q) and they will fall by the sword before you. Five(R) of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.(S)

“‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,(T) and I will keep my covenant(U) with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.(V) 11 I will put my dwelling place[a](W) among you, and I will not abhor you.(X) 12 I will walk(Y) among you and be your God,(Z) and you will be my people.(AA) 13 I am the Lord your God,(AB) who brought you out of Egypt(AC) so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke(AD) and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

Punishment for Disobedience

14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,(AE) 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws(AF) and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,(AG) 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever(AH) that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.(AI) You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.(AJ) 17 I will set my face(AK) against you so that you will be defeated(AL) by your enemies;(AM) those who hate you will rule over you,(AN) and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.(AO)

18 “‘If after all this you will not listen to me,(AP) I will punish(AQ) you for your sins seven times over.(AR) 19 I will break down your stubborn pride(AS) and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.(AT) 20 Your strength will be spent in vain,(AU) because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.(AV)

21 “‘If you remain hostile(AW) toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over,(AX) as your sins deserve. 22 I will send wild animals(AY) against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few(AZ) in number that your roads will be deserted.(BA)

23 “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction(BB) but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be hostile(BC) toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. 25 And I will bring the sword(BD) on you to avenge(BE) the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague(BF) among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. 26 When I cut off your supply of bread,(BG) ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

27 “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me(BH) but continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger(BI) I will be hostile(BJ) toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.(BK) 29 You will eat(BL) the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.(BM) 30 I will destroy your high places,(BN) cut down your incense altars(BO) and pile your dead bodies[b] on the lifeless forms of your idols,(BP) and I will abhor(BQ) you. 31 I will turn your cities into ruins(BR) and lay waste(BS) your sanctuaries,(BT) and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.(BU) 32 I myself will lay waste the land,(BV) so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.(BW) 33 I will scatter(BX) you among the nations(BY) and will draw out my sword(BZ) and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste,(CA) and your cities will lie in ruins.(CB) 34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate(CC) and you are in the country of your enemies;(CD) then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest(CE) it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

36 “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf(CF) will put them to flight.(CG) They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.(CH) 37 They will stumble over one another(CI) as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.(CJ) 38 You will perish(CK) among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.(CL) 39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’(CM) sins they will waste away.(CN)

40 “‘But if they will confess(CO) their sins(CP) and the sins of their ancestors(CQ)—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile(CR) toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts(CS) are humbled(CT) and they pay(CU) for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob(CV) and my covenant with Isaac(CW) and my covenant with Abraham,(CX) and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted(CY) by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected(CZ) my laws and abhorred my decrees.(DA) 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies,(DB) I will not reject them or abhor(DC) them so as to destroy them completely,(DD) breaking my covenant(DE) with them. I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember(DF) the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt(DG) in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

46 These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai(DH) between himself and the Israelites through Moses.(DI)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 26:11 Or my tabernacle
  2. Leviticus 26:30 Or your funeral offerings