Leviticus 26:41

41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,

Leviticus 26:41 in Other Translations

KJV
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:
ESV
41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies--if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,
NLT
41 When I have turned their hostility back on them and brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last their stubborn hearts will be humbled, and they will pay for their sins.
MSG
41 that set off my defiance that sent them off into enemy lands; if by some chance they soften their hard hearts and make amends for their sin,
CSB
41 and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies-and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled, and if they will pay the penalty for their sin,

Leviticus 26:41 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 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 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 Leviticus 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" as in ( Exodus 2:23 ) ; and observes another sense of the word, "perhaps their uncircumcised heart" 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 F4, 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Siphri apud Yalkut, ut supra. (par. 1. fol. 197. 2.)

Leviticus 26:41 In-Context

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’ sins they will waste away.
40 “ ‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me,
41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,
42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
43 For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees.

Cross References 4

  • 1. S ver 21
  • 2. Deuteronomy 10:16; Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:25,26; Ezekiel 44:7,9; Acts 7:51
  • 3. 2 Chronicles 7:14; 2 Chronicles 12:6; Ezekiel 20:43
  • 4. Isaiah 6:7; Isaiah 33:24; Isaiah 40:2; Isaiah 53:5,6,11
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