Leviticus 26:1-13
New English Translation
Exhortation to Obedience
26 “‘You must not make for yourselves idols,[a] so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before[b] it, for I am the Lord your God. 2 You must keep my Sabbaths and reverence[c] my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
The Benefits of Obedience
3 “‘If you walk in my statutes and are sure to obey my commandments,[d] 4 I will give you your rains in their time so that[e] the land will give its yield and the trees of the field will produce their fruit.[f] 5 Threshing season will extend for you until the season for harvesting grapes,[g] and the season for harvesting grapes will extend until sowing season, so[h] you will eat your bread until you are satisfied,[i] and you will live securely in your land. 6 I will grant peace in the land so that[j] you will lie down to sleep without anyone terrifying you.[k] I will remove harmful animals[l] from the land, and no sword of war[m] will pass through your land. 7 You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.[n] 8 Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 9 I will turn to you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and maintain[o] my covenant with you. 10 You will still be eating stored produce from the previous year[p] and will have to clean out what is stored from the previous year to make room for new.[q]
11 “‘I will put my tabernacle[r] in your midst and I will not abhor you.[s] 12 I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves,[t] and I broke the bars of your yoke and caused you to walk upright.[u]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 26:1 sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִם, ʾelilim), see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (ʾel, “god, God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”
- Leviticus 26:1 tn Heb “on.” The “sculpted stone” appears to be some sort of stone with images carved into (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 181, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 449).
- Leviticus 26:2 tn Heb “and my sanctuary you shall fear.” Cf. NCV “respect”; CEV “honor.”
- Leviticus 26:3 tn Heb “and my commandments you shall keep and do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8; 25:18, etc.).
- Leviticus 26:4 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
- Leviticus 26:4 tn Heb “the tree of the field will give its fruit.” As a collective singular this has been translated as plural.
- Leviticus 26:5 tn Heb “will reach for you the vintage season.”
- Leviticus 26:5 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
- Leviticus 26:5 tn Heb “to satisfaction”; KJV, ASV, NASB “to the full.”
- Leviticus 26:6 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
- Leviticus 26:6 tn Heb “and there will be no one who terrifies.” The words “to sleep” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Leviticus 26:6 tn Heb “harmful animal,” singular, but taken here as a collective plural (so almost all English versions).
- Leviticus 26:6 tn Heb “no sword”; the words “of war” are supplied in the translation to indicate what the metaphor of the sword represents.
- Leviticus 26:7 tn Heb “to the sword.”
- Leviticus 26:9 tn Heb “cause to arise,” but probably used here for the Lord’s intention of confirming or maintaining the covenant commitment made at Sinai. Cf. KJV “establish”; NASB “will confirm”; NAB “carry out”; NIV “will keep.”
- Leviticus 26:10 tn Heb “old [produce] growing old.”
- Leviticus 26:10 tn Heb “and old from the presence of new you will bring out.”
- Leviticus 26:11 tn LXX codexes Vaticanus and Alexandrinus have “my covenant” rather than “my tabernacle.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “my dwelling.”
- Leviticus 26:11 tn Heb “and my soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] will not abhor you.”
- Leviticus 26:13 tn Heb “from being to them slaves.”
- Leviticus 26:13 tn In other words, to walk as free people and not as slaves. Cf. NIV “with (+ your CEV, NLT) heads held high”; NCV “proudly.”
Leviticus 26:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Rewards for Obedience
26 “You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them, for I am the Lord your God.(A) 2 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.(B)
3 “If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully,(C) 4 I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall overlap the vintage, and the vintage shall overlap the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full and live securely in your land.(D) 6 And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword shall go through your land.(E) 7 You shall give chase to your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall give chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase to ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.(F) 9 I will look with favor upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will maintain my covenant with you.(G) 10 You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new.(H) 11 I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you.(I) 12 I[a] will be your God, and you shall be my people.(J) 13 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 26.12 Q ms: MT adds I will walk among you, and I
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