Penalties of Disobedience

14 (A)But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, 15 if, instead, you (B)reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to (C)break My covenant, 16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will [a]summon a (D)sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the (E)soul languish; also, (F)you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it. 17 And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and (G)those who hate you will rule over you, and (H)you will flee when no one is pursuing you. 18 If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you (I)seven times more for your sins. 19 I will also (J)break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 (K)Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

21 ‘Yet if you [b](L)show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you (M)seven times according to your sins. 22 (N)I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that (O)your roads become deserted.

23 (P)And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me, 24 then I in turn will (Q)show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you (R)seven times for your sins. 25 I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute (S)vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a (T)plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy. 26 (U)When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread [c]in rationed amounts, so that you will (V)eat and not be satisfied.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 26:16 Or impose...on you
  2. Leviticus 26:21 Lit walk with Me hostilely, and so throughout the ch
  3. Leviticus 26:26 Lit by weight

Covenant curses

14 But if you do not obey me and do not carry out all these commands— 15 if you reject my rules and despise my regulations, not doing all my commands and breaking my covenant— 16 then I will do the following to you:

I will bring horrific things:[a] wasting diseases and fevers that make the eyes fail and drain life away.

You will plant seed for no reason because your enemies will eat the food.

17 I will turn my face against you: you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you; and you will run away even when no one is chasing you.

18 If, despite all that, you still do not obey me, I will punish you for your sins seven more times: 19 I will destroy your prideful power. I will turn your sky to iron and your land to bronze 20 so that your strength will be spent for no reason: your land will not produce its yield, and the trees of the land won’t produce their fruit.

21 If you continue to oppose me and are unwilling to obey me, I will strike you for your sins seven more times: 22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will kill your children and destroy your livestock. They will make you so few in number that your roads will seem deserted.

23 If, despite these things, you still do not accept my discipline and continue to oppose me, 24 then I will continue to oppose you. I will strike you for your sins seven more times: 25 I will bring the sword against you, avenging the breaking of the covenant.[b] If you retreat into your cities, I will send a plague on you, and you will be handed over to the enemy. 26 When I destroy your food supply, ten women will bake bread in a single oven, and they will ration out bread by weight. You will eat but will never get full.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 26:16 Precise nature of the diseases uncertain
  2. Leviticus 26:25 Or executing covenant vengeance