Leviticus 26:1-13

Blessings for Obedience

1 " 'You shall not make for yourselves idols and divine images, and you shall not raise up stone pillars for yourselves, and you shall not put a sculptured stone in your land in order to worship before it, because I [am] Yahweh your God.

2 " 'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and you shall revere my sanctuary; I [am] Yahweh.

3 " 'If you walk in my statutes and you keep my commands and you do them,

4 then I will give you rains in their time, and the land shall give its produce, and the trees of the field shall give their fruit.

5 And for you [the] threshing season shall overtake [the] grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall overtake [the] sowing, and you shall eat your food {to your fill} and you shall live {securely} in your land.

6 And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and there shall not be {anybody who makes you afraid}, and I will remove harmful animals from the land, and {no sword shall pass through your land}.

7 And you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword {before you}.

8 And five of you shall pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you shall pursue a myriad; and your enemies shall fall by the sword {before you}.

9 And I will turn to you, and I will make you fruitful, and I will make you numerous; and I will keep my covenant with you.

10 And you shall eat {old grain}, and {you shall clear away the old before the new}.

11 And I will put my dwelling place in your midst, and my inner self shall not abhor you.

12 And I will walk about in your midst, and I shall be your God, and you shall be my people.

13 I [am] Yahweh, your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke, and I caused you to walk erectly.

Leviticus 26:1-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 26

In this chapter, after a repetition of some laws against idolatry, and concerning keeping sabbaths, and reverencing the sanctuary of God, Le 26:1,2; in order to encourage the Israelites to keep the various statutes and commandments in this book, and in the preceding, many promises are made of plenty, and peace, and safety from enemies, and of the presence of God with them, Le 26:3-13; and on the contrary, to such as should despise and break his commandments, the most grievous things are threatened, as diseases of body, destruction by their enemies, barrenness and unfruitfulness of land, the sore judgments of wild beasts, famine, sword, and pestilence, Le 26:14-39; and yet after all, when they should confess their sins, and were humbled for them, the Lord promises to remember the covenant he made with their ancestors, and would deal kindly with them, and not cast them away, and utterly destroy them, Le 26:40-46.

Footnotes

• [a]. Plural throughout the entire chapter
• [b]. Or "to"
• [c]. Or "and"
• [d]. Literally "to contentment"
• [e]. Literally "with confidence"
• [f]. Literally "who makes afraid" or "making afraid"
• [g]. Literally "a sword shall not pass through in your land"
• [h]. Literally "to your faces"
• [i]. Hebrew "from"
• [j]. Hebrew "from"
• [k]. Or "ten thousand"
• [l]. Literally "to your faces"
• [m]. Literally "old what is stale"
• [n]. Literally "old from the faces of new you shall bring out"
• [o]. Or "soul"
• [p]. Or "as a God for you"
• [q]. Or "as a people for me"