Leviticus 26:22

22 I'll set wild animals on you; they'll rob you of your children, kill your cattle, and decimate your numbers until you'll think you are living in a ghost town.

Leviticus 26:22 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 26:22

I will also send wild beasts among you
Either in a literal sense, as lions, bears, wolves and so is the reverse of what is promised to them on their doing well, ( Leviticus 26:6 ) ; or figuratively, mighty monarchs and cruel oppressors, such as were the kings of Assyria and Babylon, ( Jeremiah 50:17 ) ; which shall rob you of your children;
as the bears, in a literal sense, destroyed the children of them in the times of Elisha, ( 2 Kings 2:24 ) ; and destroy your cattle;
the tame beasts, who often become a prey to the wild ones, as both those of the flock, and of the herd, sheep and oxen, do to lions, wolves and make you few in number;
or diminish them, their number, by bereaving them of their children, and their wealth and substance, by destroying their cattle: and your [high] ways shall be desolate;
or ways, the word high not being in the text, and may signify both their public and private ones, which would be all forsaken, none caring to venture to walk in them for fear of beasts of prey.

Leviticus 26:22 In-Context

20 No matter how hard you work, nothing will come of it: No crops out of the ground, no fruit off the trees.
21 "If you defy me and refuse to listen, your punishment will be seven times more than your sins:
22 I'll set wild animals on you; they'll rob you of your children, kill your cattle, and decimate your numbers until you'll think you are living in a ghost town.
23 "And if even this doesn't work and you refuse my discipline and continue your defiance,
24 then it will be my turn to defy you. I, yes I, will punish you for your sins seven times over:
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.