Leviticus 26

1 “You must not make [create or fashion] idols [false gods, worthless objects] for yourselves or set up a carved image [graven image, pillar] or sacred pillar [monument, memorial]; you must not place a sculpted stone [figured stone, image of stone] in your land [territory, earth] to bow down [worship, prostrate] to it. For I am the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] your God [Elohim, the one supreme God]. word study 2 You must keep [observe, attend to] My Sabbaths [days of rest, worship] and have reverence [fear, deep respect] for My sanctuary [holy place, sacred space]. I am [the one true God, Yehovah] the LORD [Yehovah]. word study 3 If [under the condition, whether] you follow [walk in, obey] My statutes [precepts, divine ordinances] and carefully [diligently, with utmost care] keep [obey, guard] My commandments [laws, rules, having God’s nature], word study 4 I will give [bestow, provide] you rains [showers, downpours] in their season [at the right time, when needed], and the land [earth, territory] will yield [produce, bring forth] its produce [crops, harvest], and the trees [wood, timber] of the field [open country, countryside] will bear [yield, give] their fruit [produce, offspring]. word study 5 Your threshing [until the grain is fully separated] will continue until the grape harvest [vintage, time of gathering], and the grape harvest [time of celebration] will continue until sowing time [when seeds are planted]; you will have your fill [to satiety, abundance] of food [bread, nourishment] to eat and will dwell [live, reside] securely [in safety, without fear] in your land [territory, inheritance]. word study 6 And I will give [bestow, grant] peace [shalom, completeness and wellness] to the land [the earth, a country], and you will lie down [rest, sleep] with nothing [no fear, no anxiety] to fear [tremble, be afraid]. I will rid [remove, eliminate] the land [the earth, a region] of dangerous [evil, harmful] animals [beasts, creatures], and no sword [weapon, instrument of war] will pass [cross, go] through your land [territory, country]. word study 7 You will pursue [chase, follow with hostile intent] your enemies [adversaries, those who oppose you], and they will fall [be defeated, fail] by the sword [cutting instrument, weapon of war] before you [in your presence, face to face]. word study 8 Five [a small band] of you will pursue [chase, put to flight] a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue [chase, kill] ten thousand [a myriad, a large number], and your enemies [adversaries, those who oppose you] will fall [be defeated, slain] by the sword [a cutting instrument] before you [in your presence, face to face]. word study 9 I will turn [face, look upon] toward you and make you fruitful [produce, bear much fruit] and multiply [increase, grow in number] you, and I will establish [confirm, fulfill] My covenant [promise, agreement] with you. word study 10 You will still be eating [old store, long kept] the old [stored, vintage] supply of grain when you need to clear [bring forth, take out] it out to make room [because of the presence] for the new [fresh, recently created]. word study 11 And I will make [set, give, put] My dwelling place [tabernacle, holy House, Sacred Tent] among you, and My soul [the essence of My being, living being] will not [absolutely not, under no circumstances] despise [abhor, loathe, reject] you. word study 12 I will walk [habitually, in a special covenant relationship] among you and be your God [Elohim, the one supreme God], and you will be My people [a nation, a chosen group, Amaw]. word study 13 I am the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] your God [Elohim, the supreme God], who brought you out [led you forth, took you out] of the land [country, territory] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] so that you would no longer be slaves [servants, bondmen] to the Egyptians [the people of Egypt]. I broke [shattered, ruptured] the bars [yoke, wooden beam] of your yoke [oppression, burden] and enabled you to walk [go, move] in uprightness [moral straightness, erectness]. word study 14 If, however, you fail [do not obey, will not hearken] to obey Me [listen to and follow] and to carry out [do, make, fulfill] all [everything, every single one] these commandments [laws, rules, guidelines], word study 15 and if you reject [despise] My statutes [divine laws, ordinances], despise [abhor, have hate for] My ordinances [judgments, regulations], and neglect [refuse, fail] to carry out all [every, each] My commandments [laws, decrees], and so [consequently, as a result] break [frustrate, violate] My covenant [agreement, promise], word study 16 then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden [sudden and intense] terror [fearful destruction, dismay], wasting [serious and debilitating] disease [consumption, illness], and fever [burning inflammation, ague] that will [completely] destroy your sight [eyes, vision] and [gradually] drain your life [strength, vitality]. You will sow your seed [plant your crops, scatter your offspring] in vain [to no purpose, without result], because your enemies [adversaries, those who hate you] will eat it [consume, devour]. word study 17 And I will set My face [presence, being in front of someone] against you, so that you will be defeated [struck, smitten] by your enemies [those who hate or oppose you]. Those who hate [feel intense dislike or hostility] you will rule [have power or control] over you, and you will flee [quickly leave a place, escape from danger] when no one pursues [chases after with hostile intent] you. word study 18 And if [after all these things, in spite of these things] after all this [these events, these circumstances] you will not [still refuse to] obey [listen to, heed] Me, I will proceed [move to, continue] to punish [chastise, discipline] you sevenfold [seven times more, seven times over] for your sins [transgressions, guilt]. word study 19 I will break down [shatter, demolish] your stubborn [hardened, unyielding] pride [arrogance, self-reliance] and make your sky [heaven, the atmosphere] like iron [strong, unyielding] and your land [earth, ground] like bronze [copper, hardened metal], word study 20 and your strength [reptile, power, or might] will be spent [consumed, used up] in vain [empty, worthless, or to no purpose]. For your land [country, territory, or region] will not yield [give, produce] its produce [crops, fruits, or grains], and the trees [strong and firm objects] of the land will not bear [yield, give] their fruit [the fruit that comes from the ground or from our actions]. word study 21 If you walk [in opposition, with hostility] in hostility [contrary, in a state of opposition] toward Me and refuse [are unwilling, will not] to obey [listen to, hearken unto] Me, I will multiply [add, increase] your plagues [punishments, disasters] seven times, according to [because of, based on] your sins [guilt, iniquity]. word study 22 I will send [let loose upon you] wild animals [beasts of the field, savage creatures] against you to rob you of your children [take away your little ones], destroy [kill, wipe out] your livestock [cattle, animals], and reduce [make few in number, diminish] your numbers, until your roads [highways, paths] lie desolate [become waste, empty and devastated]. word study 23 And if [in spite of all these things] in spite of these things [by these events, through these circumstances] you do not accept [be reformed by, turn to] My discipline [correction, chastening], but continue [persist, go on] to walk [go, proceed] in hostility [opposition, contrariness] toward Me [against Me, in opposition to Me], word study 24 then I [also, in addition] will act with hostility [in opposition, contrary to] toward you, and I [myself, personally] will strike [smite, punish] you sevenfold for your sins [transgressions, guilt]. word study 25 And I will bring a sword [of judgment, to execute vengeance] against you to execute the vengeance [punishment, retribution] of the covenant [promise, agreement]. Though you withdraw [gather, flee] into your cities, I will send a plague [pestilence, disease] among you, and you will be delivered [given, handed over] into the hand [power, control] of the enemy [adversary, opponent]. word study 26 When I [completely] cut off your supply of bread [staff of life, food for sustenance], ten women will bake your bread [food, grain] in a single oven [one furnace, a shared fire] and dole out your bread [daily ration, portion] by weight [measured amount, limited quantity], so that you will eat [consume, devour] but not be satisfied [filled, content, having enough]. word study 27 But if [in spite of all these things] in spite of all this [for all this, after all these things] you do not [will not, refuse to] obey Me [listen to, heed], but continue [persist, go on] to walk [go, proceed] in hostility [opposition, contrary to] toward Me [against Me, with Me in opposition], word study 28 then I [the Lord, with intense personal involvement] will walk [in opposition, with furious hostility] in fury [intense anger, wrath] against you, and I, even I [emphatically, personally], will punish [discipline, chastise] you sevenfold for your sins [guilt, rebellion against God]. word study 29 You will eat [devour, consume] the flesh [body, human tissue] of your own sons [descendants, children] and daughters [female children, offspring]. word study 30 I will destroy [annihilate, devastate] your high places [cultic platforms, idolatrous shrines], cut down [demolish, uproot] your incense altars [idolatrous pillars, sun-images], and heap [pile, cast] your lifeless bodies [corpses, dead carcasses] on the lifeless remains [dead bodies, carcasses] of your idols [false gods, logs or round pieces of wood]; and My soul [living being, essence] will despise [abhor, strongly dislike] you. word study 31 I will reduce your cities [laying waste] to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries [places of holy worship, desolate], and I will refuse [not, utterly reject] to smell the pleasing aroma [sweet fragrance, soothing scent] of your sacrifices [offerings, gifts to God]. word study 32 And I [the Lord myself] will lay waste [bring into desolation, devastate] the land [the earth, the promised territory], so that your enemies [adversaries, those who oppose you] who dwell [reside, live] in it will be appalled [astonished, horrified]. word study 33 But I will scatter [disperse, send out in all directions] you among the nations [Gentiles, heathen] and will draw out a sword [cutting instrument, weapon] after you as your land [country, territory] becomes desolate [wasted, laid waste] and your cities [towns, settlements] are laid waste [made a desolation, ruined]. word study 34 Then [at that time, afterwards] the land [the earth, a country] shall enjoy [rest in, take pleasure in] its Sabbaths [days of rest, periods of worship] all the days [every year, the entire time] it lies desolate [is waste, remains uninhabited], while you are in the land [country, territory] of your enemies [adversaries, those who oppose you]. At that time the land will rest [cease from work, be renewed] and enjoy [delight in, take pleasure in] its Sabbaths [periods of worship, days of rest]. word study 35 As long as it lies [in a state of devastation, waste] desolate, the land will have the rest [a time of quiet, stillness] it did not receive during the [appointed times of worship, Sabbath days] Sabbaths when you lived [dwelt, resided] in it. word study 36 As for those of you who survive [remain, are left alive], I will send a faintness [weakness, fear] into their hearts [innermost being, mind, will, and emotions] in the lands [countries, territories] of their enemies [adversaries, those who hate them], so that even the sound [voice, noise] of a windblown [driven, shaken] leaf [foliage] will put them to flight [cause them to flee, pursue them]. And they will flee [run away, escape] as one flees [runs from, is chased by] the sword [cutting instrument, weapon], and fall [be defeated, fail] when no one [none, nothing] pursues [chases, follows] them. word study 37 They will stumble [trip and fall, lose their balance] over one another as before the sword [a cutting instrument], though no one [none, nothing] is behind them. So you will not be able [have the power or strength] to stand [resist, withstand] against your enemies [those who hate or oppose you]. word study 38 You will perish [die, be destroyed, come to an end] among the nations [Gentiles, heathen, non-Hebrew peoples], and the land [earth, territory, country] of your enemies [adversaries, haters, those who oppose you] will consume [eat, devour, destroy] you. word study 39 Those of you who survive [remain, are left] in the lands [countries, territories] of your enemies [adversaries, those who oppose you] will waste away [pine away, decay] in their iniquity [moral evil, sin] and will decay [rot, wither away] in the sins [iniquities, wrongdoings] of their fathers [ancestors, forefathers]. word study 40 But if they will confess [acknowledge and admit] their iniquity [moral evil, sin] and that of their fathers [ancestors, forefathers] in the unfaithfulness [treachery, disloyalty] that they practiced [committed, acted] against Me, by which they have also walked [lived, conducted themselves] in hostility [opposition, contrariness] toward Me— word study 41 and I [also, in addition] acted with hostility [in opposition, contrary] toward them and brought them into the land [country, territory] of their enemies [adversaries, haters]—and if their uncircumcised [unregenerate, spiritually unresponsive] hearts will be humbled [submissive, bent in obedience] and they will make amends [accept punishment, be pleased with correction] for their iniquity [moral evil, sin], word study 42 then I will remember [recall, bring to mind] My covenant [promise, agreement, treaty] with Jacob [the supplanter, deceiver] and My covenant [also, in addition] with Isaac [he laughs, son of Abraham] and My covenant [divine promise, pledge] with Abraham [father of many nations], and I will remember [not forget, keep in mind] the land [earth, territory, region]. word study 43 For the land [the promised territory, earth] will be abandoned [left desolate, forsaken] by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths [days of rest, spiritual rejuvenation] by lying desolate [empty, devastated] without them. And they will pay the penalty [accept punishment, suffer the consequences] for their iniquity [moral evil, sin], because they rejected [spurned, refused] My ordinances [justice, laws] and abhorred [strongly disliked, hated] My statutes [divine decrees, regulations]. word study 44 Yet in spite of this [despite all that], when they are in the land [territory, country] of their enemies [adversaries, haters], I will not reject [cast away, spurn] or despise [abhor, strongly dislike] them so as to destroy [completely consume, end] them and break [frustrate, violate] My covenant [promise, agreement] with them; for I am the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] their God [Elohim, the one supreme God]. word study 45 But for their sake [because of them, on their account] I will remember [recall, not forget] the covenant [agreement, promise] with their fathers [ancestors, forefathers], whom I brought out [led forth] of the land [earth, country] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] in the sight [presence, view] of the nations [Gentiles, heathen], that I might be [to exist as] their God [Elohim, the supreme God]. I am [exist as] the LORD [Yehovah].” word study 46 These [specific, particular] are the statutes [decrees, laws], ordinances [regulations, rules], and laws [instructions, teachings] that the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] established [set up, gave] between [in the midst of, among] Himself and the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] through [by means of, by the hand of] Moses [the Israelite leader] on [at, in the location of] Mount [hill] Sinai [the mountain where the Law was given]. word study