Leviticus 26:40

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;

Leviticus 26:40 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 26:40

If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of
their fathers
The Targum of Jonathan adds,

``in the time of their distress;''

which might serve to bring their sins to remembrance, and them to a confession of them, not only of their own sins, but of their fathers' also; acknowledging thereby that they had been guilty of sinning against God for a long course of years past; and that God had been long suffering towards them, and bore much with them before he brought his judgments on them, which were just, and what they righteously deserved; and such a confession Daniel made, ( Daniel 9:4-8 ) ; and the words may as well be rendered absolute as conditional, or better, and as a prediction of what would be done by them when in captivity and distress, "and they shall confess their iniquity" F3; with shame and sorrow, with repentance for it, and abhorrence of it; or otherwise, if the confession was only verbal and hypocritical, it would not be acceptable:

with their trespass which they trespassed against me;
along with their own iniquities, and those of their fathers, they should confess, their trespass against the Lord would be acknowledged by them; which seems to design some particular and grievous sin committed by them, by which perhaps is meant their idolatry, a capital sin, directly against God, and what those people were prone unto:

and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
to his mind and will, to his laws, commands, statutes, and ordinances, disregarding him and them, as if enemies to him; or "by chance"; (See Gill on Leviticus 26:21).


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (wdwthw) "et confitebuntur", Pagninus, Montanus.

Leviticus 26:40 In-Context

38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up .
39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies ' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies ; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled , and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember ; and I will remember the land.
The King James Version is in the public domain.