Leviticus 26:1-14

Reward for Obedience

1 “ ‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.
2 “ ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
3 “ ‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,
4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.
5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.
6 “ ‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.
7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
8 Five 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.
9 “ ‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant 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.
11 I will put my dwelling place[a] among you, and I will not abhor you.
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke 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,

Leviticus 26:1-14 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.

Cross References 31

  • 1. S Exodus 20:4; Leviticus 19:4; Deuteronomy 5:8
  • 2. Psalms 97:7; Isaiah 48:5; Jeremiah 44:19; Habakkuk 2:18
  • 3. S Exodus 23:24
  • 4. Numbers 33:52
  • 5. S Exodus 20:8
  • 6. Leviticus 19:30
  • 7. S Genesis 26:5; S Exodus 24:8; Deuteronomy 6:17; Deuteronomy 7:12; Deuteronomy 11:13,22; Deuteronomy 28:1,9
  • 8. Deuteronomy 11:14; Deuteronomy 28:12; Psalms 68:9; Jeremiah 5:24; Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:23; Zechariah 10:1
  • 9. Job 5:10; Psalms 65:9; Psalms 104:13; Psalms 147:8; Jeremiah 5:24
  • 10. S Exodus 23:26; S Leviticus 25:19; S Job 14:9; Psalms 67:6
  • 11. Deuteronomy 6:11; Deuteronomy 11:15; Ezekiel 36:29-30; Joel 2:19,26; Amos 9:13
  • 12. S Leviticus 25:18
  • 13. Psalms 29:11; Psalms 37:11; Psalms 85:8; Psalms 147:14; Isaiah 26:3; Isaiah 54:13; Isaiah 60:18; Haggai 2:9
  • 14. Psalms 3:5; Psalms 4:8; Proverbs 3:24
  • 15. Job 11:18,19; Isaiah 17:2; Jeremiah 30:10; Micah 4:4; Zephaniah 3:13
  • 16. S ver 22; S Genesis 37:20
  • 17. Psalms 18:37; Psalms 44:5
  • 18. Isaiah 30:17
  • 19. Deuteronomy 28:7; Deuteronomy 32:30; Joshua 23:10; Judges 15:15; 1 Chronicles 12:14
  • 20. S Genesis 1:22; S Genesis 17:6; Nehemiah 9:23
  • 21. S Genesis 17:7
  • 22. Leviticus 25:22
  • 23. Exodus 25:8; Psalms 74:7; Psalms 76:2; Ezekiel 37:27
  • 24. ver 15,43,44; Deuteronomy 31:6; 1 Samuel 12:22; 1 Kings 6:13; 2 Kings 17:15
  • 25. S Genesis 3:8
  • 26. S Genesis 17:7
  • 27. Exodus 6:7; Jeremiah 7:23; Jeremiah 11:4; Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 31:1; Zechariah 13:9; 2 Corinthians 6:16*
  • 28. Leviticus 11:44
  • 29. S Exodus 6:6; S Exodus 13:3
  • 30. Isaiah 10:27; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 27:2; Jeremiah 28:10; Jeremiah 30:8; Ezekiel 30:18; Ezekiel 34:27; Hosea 11:4
  • 31. Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Malachi 2:2

Footnotes 1

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