Curses for Disobedience
Leviticus 26:14-46
Lev.26.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשמעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תעשו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- המצות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (verbal): Uses the same conditional formula — 'But if you will not obey…' — introducing curses for failure to keep God's commandments, closely paralleling Lev 26:14's language and function.
- Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (structural): Presents the blessing/curse proclamation set before Israel ('a blessing... a curse') with the conditional obedience language that frames covenant rewards and punishments like Lev 26:14–.
- Exodus 19:5 (thematic): Offers the positive counterpart to the same covenantal pattern ('If you obey my voice... you shall be my treasured possession'), highlighting the obedience–reward/ disobedience–consequence motif underlying Lev 26:14.
- Jeremiah 11:3-5 (allusion): Jeremiah recalls the Mosaic covenant warning—'obey my voice and I will be your God… if you do not listen'—echoing Lev 26:14's threat tied to failure to heed God's commands.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19-20 (thematic): Solomon's temple-warning repeats the covenantal conditional ('if you turn away and forsake my statutes…') with promised judgment for disobedience, reflecting the same covenant framework as Lev 26:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,
- But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,
Lev.26.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- בחקתי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תמאסו: VERB,qal,imprf,2,m,pl
- ואם: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- משפטי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תגעל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- נפשכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,m,pl
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- עשות: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- מצותי: NOUN,f,pl,abs,1cs
- להפרכם: PREP+VERB,hif,inf,3,pl(obj)
- את: PRT,acc
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (verbal): Direct parallel covenant formula: failure to obey God's statutes and commandments brings specified curses — language and structure closely mirror Leviticus 26's warning.
- Deuteronomy 28:45 (verbal): Repeats the warning that because the people did not obey the voice of the LORD and observe his commandments, the curses would come upon them — echoing the consequence motif of Lev 26:15.
- Ezekiel 20:13 (allusion): Ezekiel recalls Israel 'not walking in my statutes' and 'despising my ordinances,' directly echoing Leviticus' phrasing and linking disobedience to divine punishment.
- Jeremiah 11:10-11 (thematic): Speaks of the people not obeying the covenant and the resulting disaster from the LORD — thematically parallel in covenant breach and promised judgment.
- Psalm 106:40-41 (thematic): Describes God's wrath aroused because the people sinned against his covenant, with God giving them over to their enemies — a poetic reflection of Leviticus' covenantal consequences.
Alternative generated candidates
- and if you despise my statutes, and if your soul loathes my ordinances, so as not to do all my commandments, and so break my covenant,
- and if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul loathes my ordinances, so as not to do all my commandments, thus breaking my covenant,
Lev.26.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אף: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- והפקדתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,_,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- בהלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- השחפת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- הקדחת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מכלות: NOUN,f,pl,cs
- עינים: NOUN,f,du,abs
- ומדיבת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,cs
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וזרעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- לריק: PREP+ADJ,m,sg
- זרעכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,mp
- ואכלהו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,pl+PRON,3,m,sg
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:22 (verbal): Deuteronomy’s covenant curse repeats the same maladies—“a consumption and a fever” that afflict the eyes and body—using language very close to Lev 26:16’s “wasting disease” and “fever that consumes the eyes.”
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (thematic): These verses warn that Israel will sow much but reap little and that enemies will eat the produce—a close thematic parallel to Lev 26:16’s “you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.”
- Leviticus 26:25 (structural): Another verse within the same covenant-sermon linking divine punishment to pestilence and sword; both verses form part of the structured series of curses pronounced for covenant disobedience (pestilence, sword, famine, exile).
- Ezekiel 14:21 (thematic): Ezekiel lists pestilence (alongside sword, famine, wild beasts) as a divine instrument of judgment. This echoes Lev 26:16’s depiction of disease and calamity as God-sent punishments for communal sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- then I, even I, will do this to you: I will appoint over you panic—wasting disease and fever that make the eyes fail and the soul languish; and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
- then I, too, will do this to you: I will appoint over you terror—wasting disease and fever—that make the eyes fail and the life languish; and you shall sow your seed in vain, and your enemies shall eat it.
Lev.26.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- ונגפתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- לפני: PREP
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
- ורדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- שנאיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ונסתם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- רדף: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (verbal): Same covenant-warnings language: God causes Israel to be defeated before their enemies and to flee (Deut. 28 uses similar wording about being smitten and fleeing before foes).
- Deuteronomy 28:65 (thematic): Part of the Deuteronomic curse-cycle parallel to Leviticus 26: Israel finds no rest among the nations, is terrified day and night, and suffers oppression—themes of fear, flight, and subjugation found in Lev.26:17.
- Leviticus 26:27-28 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: the covenant curses are reiterated (God sets His face against Israel and increases punishment), reinforcing the threat of defeat and domination described in v.17.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 (thematic): Historical fulfillment theme: Judah is given into the hand of enemies and carried into exile as judgment—an outcome echoing Lev.26:17’s warning of subjection and defeat by adversaries.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
- I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
Lev.26.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- עד: PREP
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשמעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ויספתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- ליסרה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- שבע: NUM,card
- על: PREP
- חטאתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,pl
Parallels
- Lev.26:21 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: repeats the formula of increasing punishment — 'I will punish you yet seven times for your sins' — as part of the escalating covenant sanctions.
- Lev.26:24 (verbal): Another near-verse repetition of the same promise to 'punish you seven times,' reinforcing the patterned threefold escalation of warnings and judgments in Leviticus 26.
- Lev.26:28 (verbal): Continues the sequence of punishments for persistent disobedience; though wording expands (appointing terror, wasting, and desolation), it functions as the same escalating punitive covenant formula.
- Deut.28:45-46 (thematic): Deuteronomy's catalogue of covenant curses parallels Leviticus' cause-and-effect theology: persistent disobedience brings pursuing and overwhelming curses from the LORD until destruction.
- 2 Chron.36:15-17 (thematic): Historical example of the covenantal principle in action: Judah's persistent rejection of God's messengers leads to sovereign punishment (Babylonian exile), a fulfillment-like outworking of the covenant sanctions described in Leviticus 26.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if, after all this, you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.
- And if, despite these things, you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.
Lev.26.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- גאון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עזכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2,mp
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שמיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,mp
- כברזל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- ארצכם: NOUN,f,sg,cons,suff,2,m,pl
- כנחשה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:23-24 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel: the curse language about the heavens and the earth becoming like metal (heavens/brass, earth/iron) as a consequence of disobedience echoes Leviticus 26:19's imagery of heavens as iron and earth as bronze.
- Deuteronomy 28:15-20 (structural): Structural parallel within the covenant curses: a sequence of penalties (military defeat, drought, sterile land, disease) that mirrors Leviticus 26's pattern of promised punishments for covenant breach.
- Psalm 107:33-34 (thematic): Thematic parallel: God transforms life-giving water and fertile land into wilderness and barrenness as judgment—closely related to Leviticus' image of the heavens and earth rendered useless.
- Amos 4:7-8 (thematic): Thematic parallel: God withholds rain and makes land languish or spoil specific fields/cities as punitive action, resonating with the Leviticus motif of cosmic/landscape impairment as divine discipline.
- Isaiah 24:5-6 (allusion): Allusive/thematic parallel: the corruption and curse upon the earth because of covenant violation—'the curse has devoured the earth'—corresponds to Leviticus' depiction of the heavens and earth altered as part of divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will break the pride of your strength; I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze.
- I will break the pride of your strength, and I will make your heavens like iron and your land like bronze.
Lev.26.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לריק: PREP
- כחכם: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- ארצכם: NOUN,f,sg,cons,suff,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יבולה: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- ועץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- פריו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.28.38-40 (verbal): Part of the Deuteronomic covenant curses that repeats the same motif and language: sowing much yet gathering little, and the land and trees failing to yield produce as punishment for disobedience.
- Gen.3.17-18 (thematic): The primeval curse on the ground after the Fall—thorns, thistles, and difficult cultivation—provides the foundational theme of agricultural frustration when God’s order is broken.
- Joel.1.10-12 (verbal): Prophetic depiction of devastation where fields are ruined and 'all the trees of the field are withered,' echoing Leviticus’ imagery of land and trees failing to bear fruit.
- Hosea.4.3 (thematic): Describes the land mourning and the loss of beasts and produce as consequences of Israel’s sin—parallel causal link between disobedience and agricultural collapse.
- Amos.4.6-9 (thematic): Series of divine afflictions (famine, blight, pestilence) that withhold crops and sustenance as punishment, reflecting the Levitical pattern of agricultural curses for covenant unfaithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your strength shall be spent in vain; your land shall not give its yield, and the tree of the land shall not give its fruit.
- Your strength shall be spent in vain; your land shall not give its yield, and the tree of the land shall not give its fruit.
Lev.26.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- תלכו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- קרי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- תאבו: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,pl
- לשמע: VERB,qal,infinitive
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ויספתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- מכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שבע: NUM,card
- כחטאתיכם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,2,pl
Parallels
- Lev.26.18 (verbal): Nearly identical wording in the covenant curses: if Israel continues to disobey God, He will punish them 'seven times for your sins'—a direct repetition of the formula.
- Lev.26.24 (verbal): Another immediate restatement in the chapter of the same threat—'I will also walk contrary unto you... and will punish you yet seven times for your sins'—part of the escalating sanctions.
- Lev.26.28 (verbal): Further recurrence of the sevenfold punishment motif tied to persistent refusal to heed God, reinforcing the chapter’s structural pattern of threats and penalties.
- Deut.28:20-22 (thematic): Deuteronomy's catalogue of covenant curses promises the LORD will send curses, diseases and plagues on disobedience—the same theme of divinely inflicted calamities in response to sin.
- Ezek.14:21 (thematic): God warns of sending severe judgments (sword, famine, pestilence, wild beasts) on a sinful land—paralleling Leviticus’ punitive plagues and the principle of retributive punishment for persistent sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- If you walk with me in hostility and are not willing to listen to me, then I will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
- And if you walk with me in hostility and are not willing to listen to me, then I will add upon you a plague sevenfold according to your sins.
Lev.26.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשלחתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,_,sg
- בכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- חית: NOUN,f,sg,const
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ושכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- והכריתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בהמתכם: NOUN,f,sg,const+SUFF,2,m,pl
- והמעיטה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- ונשמו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- דרכיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+SUFF,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:26 (verbal): Both texts warn that the people’s bodies will become prey to birds and wild beasts as part of covenant curses—explicitly picturing animals consuming the dead and devastation of the people.
- Deuteronomy 28:20–22 (thematic): Like Leviticus 26, this passage is part of the Deuteronomic list of covenant curses in which Yahweh 'sends' various calamities (disease, drought, enemy) as punitive judgments against disobedience.
- Ezekiel 14:17 (verbal): Ezekiel threatens that God will 'cut off from you man and beast,' paralleling Leviticus’ linking of human bereavement with destruction of livestock as divine punishment.
- Hosea 4:3 (thematic): Hosea describes the land mourning and its inhabitants—including the beasts of the field—languishing under judgment, echoing Leviticus’ image of desolation and wild animals affecting/constituting the punishment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will send among you the wild animal of the field, and it shall bereave you; it shall cut off your livestock and make you few, and your roads shall be desolate.
- I will send among you the wild beasts of the field, and they will bereave you; they will cut off your livestock and diminish you, and your roads shall be desolate.
Lev.26.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- באלה: PREP+DEM,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- תוסרו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- והלכתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- קרי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lev.26.21 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same curse sequence—uses the same conditional formula 'if ye walk contrary unto me' to introduce disciplinary measures.
- Lev.26.27 (verbal): Near-identical phrasing ('if in spite of these things ye will not be reformed unto me') used later in the chapter as a repeated escalation of punishment.
- Deut.28.15 (structural): Deuteronomy's covenant curses follow the same conditional structure ('if thou wilt not hearken') and enumerate consequences for disobedience, paralleling Lev.26's covenantal warning.
- Deut.30.2-3 (thematic): Provides the covenantal counterpoint to Lev.26: after exile and punishment, restoration is possible if the people return—mitigates the chapter's threat by stressing conditional mercy.
- Ps.81.11-12 (thematic): Speaks of Israel's refusal to heed God and being 'given over' to their own stubbornness—thematically echoes Lev.26:23's depiction of persistent disobedience that brings judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if by these you are not corrected by me, but walk with me in hostility,
- And if with these you are not corrected, but walk with me in hostility,
Lev.26.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והלכתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אף: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- עמכם: PREP+PRON,2,pl
- בקרי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- והכיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- גם: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- שבע: NUM,card
- על: PREP
- חטאתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:18 (verbal): Repeats the formula of punitive escalation: “I will punish you seven times for your sins,” the same clause and covenantal sanction found in 26:24.
- Leviticus 26:21 (verbal): Uses the closely related phrase “I will walk contrary unto you also” (or “I will be hostile toward you”), echoing the opening clause of 26:24 and the pattern of warning and reaction.
- Leviticus 26:28 (verbal): Another recurrence in the chapter of the threat to punish ‘seven times’ for disobedience and the attendant curse-language—part of the chapter’s repetitive covenant‑blessing/curse structure.
- Deuteronomy 28:20 (thematic): Part of Deuteronomy’s covenantal curse tradition: God sends persistent calamity on covenant-breaking Israel—paralleling Lev 26:24’s promise of prolonged punishment for sin.
- Psalm 89:31–34 (thematic): Affirms the motif of covenantal chastening—God will punish transgression (’I will punish their transgression with the rod’) but also restrains ultimate destruction—echoing Lev 26’s discipline-within-covenant theme.
Alternative generated candidates
- then I also will walk with you in hostility, and I, even I, will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
- then I, too, will walk with you in hostility, and I, even I, will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
Lev.26.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והבאתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,m,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נקמת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- נקם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונאספתם: VERB,niphal,perf,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- עריכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ושלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בתוככם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ונתתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אויב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.28.25 (structural): Part of the parallel covenant-curses formula: God brings the sword to execute covenant vengeance, followed by pestilence and being given into the hand of enemies—same sequence and legal covenant framework as Lev 26:25.
- Jer.25.9 (thematic): God announces sending the king of Babylon and foreign nations to punish Israel—the theme of God ‘sending’ an army/sword as instrument of divine judgment echoes Lev 26:25.
- Ezek.5.12 (verbal): Ezekiel depicts on-going punishment by sword and pestilence and removal/scattering of the people; shares concrete motifs (sword, pestilence, dispersion) and language of executing judgment.
- 2 Chron.36.20-21 (thematic): Narrative fulfillment of covenant curses: the people are taken into exile and handed over to foreign power—historical fulfilment of being delivered into the hand of the enemy as announced in Lev 26:25.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will bring upon you a sword that executes the vengeance of the covenant; you shall be gathered into your cities, and I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy.
- I will bring upon you a sword that avenges the covenant; and when you are gathered into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy.
Lev.26.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בשברי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מטה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואפו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לחמכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- בתנור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- והשיבו: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,pl
- לחמכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- במשקל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואכלתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תשבעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (structural): Part of the covenant curse section that parallels Leviticus 26: both outline agricultural failure and economic collapse (poor yields, ruined herds, eating but not being satisfied).
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (thematic): Describes siege-induced desperation and rationing (including tender persons forced to eat extreme food), thematically echoing Leviticus' image of insufficient bread and communal baking under hardship.
- 2 Kings 6:25-29 (thematic): Narrates the famine during the siege of Samaria with vivid details (scarcity of bread, women in extremity), providing a historical example of the kind of food scarcity and social breakdown evoked in Lev 26:26.
- Isaiah 3:1-3 (verbal): Speaks of the Lord removing the 'stay and staff' of bread and support from Jerusalem—an image resonant with Leviticus' 'I will break your staff of bread' (loss of sustenance and social support).
- Lamentations 4:4-10 (thematic): Lamentations portrays the agony of siege and famine (children starving, mothers desperate), thematically paralleling the Levitical curse of pervasive hunger and unfulfilled appetite.
Alternative generated candidates
- When I break for you the staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall return your bread by weight; you shall eat and not be satisfied.
- When I break for you the staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall return your bread by weight; you shall eat and not be satisfied.
Lev.26.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- בזאת: PREP
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשמעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- והלכתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- בקרי: ADV
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:28 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same chapter repeating the threat of divine opposition and punishment ('and I will walk contrary unto you...'), echoing the formulation of escalating curses.
- Leviticus 26:14–18 (structural): Earlier verses in the same covenant passage introduce the pattern of conditional warnings ('If ye will not hearken unto me...') and the progressive series of punishments that culminate in v.27.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (thematic): Deuteronomy’s covenant curse formula uses similar conditional language ('if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD...') and lists consequences for disobedience, paralleling Leviticus’ threat structure.
- Psalm 89:30–32 (thematic): A royal-pastoral formulation of covenant discipline: if David’s line disobeys God, God will punish them—reflecting the same principle that covenant breach brings divine chastening.
- Amos 4:6–11 (thematic): A prophetic catalogue of punitive acts (famine, drought, conquest) sent because Israel did not return to God, illustrating the same dynamic of repeated corrective judgments described in Leviticus 26.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if, with this, you will not listen to me but walk with me in hostility,
- And if, with this, you will not listen to me, but walk with me in hostility,
Lev.26.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והלכתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- עמכם: PREP+PRON,2,pl
- בחמת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- קרי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- ויסרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אף: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- שבע: NUM,card
- על: PREP
- חטאתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,pl
Parallels
- Deut.31.17 (verbal): God speaks of kindled anger and forsaking/hiding his face from Israel as punishment — a close covenantal parallel to God 'walking contrary' and withdrawing because of sin.
- Isa.59.2 (thematic): Sin separates people from God: 'your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face' — same theme of God's presence removed in response to sin.
- Hos.5.6 (allusion): 'They shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself' — similarly depicts God withdrawing his presence as judgment for covenant unfaithfulness.
- Ps.81.12 (verbal): 'So I gave them up to their stubborn heart' (Hebrew idiom of giving over as punishment) parallels the Levitical formula of God turning away or acting contrary toward the people.
- Rom.1.24 (structural): Paul's language 'God gave them up' (a judicial giving over) echoes the Deuteronomic/Levitical pattern of divine withdrawal as punitive response to persistent sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- then I will walk with you in the fury of hostility, and I, even I, will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.
- then I will walk with you in furious hostility, and I, even I, will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.
Lev.26.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואכלתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בניכם: NOUN,m,pl,poss,2,m,pl
- ובשר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בנתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,mp
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (verbal): Part of the covenant curses describing siege famine; uses similar language about being forced to eat the flesh of sons and daughters and the horror of such deprivation.
- Ezekiel 5:10 (verbal): Prophetic pronouncement of judgment stating explicitly that fathers will eat their sons and mothers their daughters—direct verbal parallel to Leviticus' curse imagery.
- Jeremiah 19:9 (verbal): A prophetic condemnation of Jerusalem that repeats the formulaic verdict that parents will eat their children in the extreme siege judgments.
- 2 Kings 6:28-29 (thematic): Narrative account from the Assyrian siege of Samaria where a woman admits boiling and eating her son—an historical example echoing the Leviticus curse.
- Lamentations 4:10 (thematic): Poetic depiction of Jerusalem's suffering in siege, saying compassionate women have boiled their own children—thematically parallel imagery of cannibalism under siege.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.
- You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.
Lev.26.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשמדתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,common,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- במתיכם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- והכרתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- חמניכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- פגריכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- פגרי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- גלוליכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וגעלה: VERB,qal,perf,1,common,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (verbal): Commands Israel to destroy the high places and break down altars of the nations — language and action parallel to God's promise to destroy Israel’s high places and altars.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 (verbal): Instructs the breaking of altars, smashing of pillars and cutting down of Asherim — parallels the denunciation and destruction of cultic sites in Leviticus 26:30.
- Ezekiel 6:4-6 (allusion): Prophetic oracle that high places and altars will be cut down and the slain will lie among the idols — closely echoes the imagery of corpses on the ruins of idolatrous sites and God’s abhorrence.
- 2 Kings 23:15-20 (structural): Narrative of Josiah defiling Topheth and removing/tearing down altars and high places — an historical enactment of the cleansing/destroying of idolatrous cultic sites anticipated in Leviticus 26:30.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense stands; I will lay your corpses upon the corpses of your idols, and my soul will abhor you.
- I will destroy your high places and cut off your sun-pillars; I will lay your corpses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul will abhor you.
Lev.26.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עריכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- חרבה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והשמותי: VERB,hifil,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מקדשיכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- ולא: CONJ
- אריח: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- בריח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ניחחכם: NOUN,m,sg,suff
Parallels
- Ezekiel 6:6 (verbal): Speaks of altars and high places becoming desolate and broken—language similar to Leviticus' promise to make sanctuaries desolate and to put an end to accepted offerings.
- Isaiah 1:11-15 (verbal): God rejects the people's sacrifices and incense ('I will hide my eyes… I will not listen'), echoing Leviticus' statement that God will not 'smell' or accept their offerings.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17-21 (thematic): Narrates the Babylonian destruction and burning of the temple and the exile—an historical fulfillment of the curse that cities and sanctuaries would be laid waste.
- Amos 5:21-23 (thematic): God condemns Israel's festivals and offerings ('I hate, I despise your feasts… take away from me the noise of your songs'), paralleling the theme that sacrifices will not avert divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will make your cities a waste and desolate your sanctuaries; and I will not smell your pleasing aromas.
- I will make your cities a ruin and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas.
Lev.26.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשמתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,_,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ושממו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
- הישבים: PARTCP,m,pl,def
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Lev.26.33 (structural): Immediate continuation in the same covenant‑curse speech: repeats the themes of scattering the people and the land becoming desolate and cities wasted under enemy occupation.
- Deut.28.63 (thematic): Deuteronomy's covenant curses likewise portray Yahweh reversing blessing into destruction—scattering Israel among the nations and making the land desolate so enemies possess it.
- Ezek.6.14 (verbal): Prophetic judgment uses the same language of making cities waste and the land desolate as punishment for idolatry, echoing Lev.26's imagery of divine desolation.
- Jer.9.11 (thematic): Jeremiah's oracle declares that cities of Judah will be made desolate and without inhabitants—parallel theme of land and cities laid waste by divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I myself will make the land desolate, and your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it.
- I myself will make the land desolate, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be appalled at it.
Lev.26.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתכם: CONJ+PRON,2,m,pl
- אזרה: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- והריקתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- אחריכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ארצכם: NOUN,f,sg,cons,suff,2,m,pl
- שממה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועריכם: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- חרבה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language — God will 'scatter you among the nations' and make the land desolate; Deut. 28 reiterates Leviticus’ covenant curses in parallel wording.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (thematic): Speaks of defeat, dispersion and exile as consequences of disobedience (being driven out and scattered among the nations), thematically matching Lev.26:33’s threat.
- Ezekiel 5:12 (thematic): God announces scattering of the people and devastation of the land/cities as punishment — prophetic application of the covenantal curse motif found in Leviticus 26.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19-21 (structural): Describes the Babylonian exile and the land lying desolate — a historical fulfillment narrative that echoes Lev.26:33’s warning that the land and cities will become desolate after exile.
Alternative generated candidates
- You I will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you; your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
- And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation and your cities shall be a ruin.
Lev.26.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אז: ADV
- תרצה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- שבתתיה: NOUN,f,pl,poss3fs
- כל: DET
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- השמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואתם: CONJ+PRON,2,pl
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
- אז: ADV
- תשבת: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והרצת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שבתתיה: NOUN,f,pl,poss3fs
Parallels
- Leviticus 25:2-4 (verbal): The law instituting the sabbatical year for the land (the land must observe a Sabbath) — the principle that the land is to 'rest' is the basis for Lev 26:34's claim that the land will enjoy its sabbaths.
- Leviticus 26:43 (structural): Within the same chapter the idea is repeated: the land shall be left desolate and shall enjoy its sabbaths — a direct internal parallel and restatement of 26:34's promise/curse formula.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 (quotation): Explicitly cites the language of Leviticus about the land enjoying its sabbaths as the explanation for the Babylonian exile (the land 'enjoyed its sabbaths' for the seventy years) — a direct New Testament-era application of Lev 26:34.
- Jeremiah 25:11-12 (thematic): Predicts the seventy years of exile to Babylon; Chronicles connects that period to the land's sabbaths in Leviticus, so Jeremiah's prophecy functions as a thematic parallel explaining the duration of desolation described in Lev 26:34.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of its desolation, while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest and make up for its Sabbaths.
- Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths all the days of its desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
Lev.26.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כל: DET
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- השמה: ADV
- תשבת: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- שבתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בשבתתיכם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,construct+2,m,pl
- בשבתכם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+2,m,pl
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 25:2–4 (verbal): Law establishing the sabbath year for the land (six years sowing, seventh year rest). Direct legal and verbal parallel—both speak of the land 'keeping' or 'enjoying' its Sabbaths.
- Exodus 23:10–11 (verbal): Earlier instruction that the land must rest every seventh year and not be sown, so it may 'rest' and feed the poor—verbal and thematic parallel about the land's sabbatical rest.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 (allusion): Explains that Judah's exile fulfilled the command so 'the land enjoyed its Sabbaths' during desolation—an explicit historiographical allusion to the Levitical promise/penalty.
- Jeremiah 25:11–12 (thematic): Foretells seventy years of Babylonian exile; Chronicles links that period to the land's Sabbaths being fulfilled—the exile is presented as the fulfillment of the land’s sabbatical requirement.
Alternative generated candidates
- All the days of its desolation it shall rest—what it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you lived upon it.
- All the days of its desolation it shall rest, that which it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt upon it.
Lev.26.36 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנשארים: ADJ,qal,ptc,m,pl,def
- בכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- והבאתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,m,sg
- מרך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בלבבם: PREP,3,m,pl
- בארצת: PREP,3,m,pl
- איביהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- ורדף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- נדף: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- ונסו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מנסת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונפלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- רדף: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Lev.26.17 (verbal): Earlier curse in the same chapter uses the same motif—God sets His face against Israel so that they 'shall flee when none pursueth you,' echoing the image of fearful flight in 26:36.
- Lev.26.37 (structural): Immediate parallel in the chapter: continues the theme of the remnant languishing in the lands of their enemies and suffering the consequences of their iniquities—closely connected in sequence and content to 26:36.
- Lev.26.33 (thematic): Promises scattering of Israel 'among the nations' so that land becomes desolate—shares the overarching punishment theme (exile, dispersal, vulnerability) underlying 26:36.
- Deut.28.25 (verbal): Part of the Deuteronomic covenant curses: 'you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them,' a very similar image of rout and panic before enemies found elsewhere in Leviticus 26:36.
- Deut.28.65 (thematic): Speaks of being among nations with 'no rest' and constant fear 'night and day'—parallels the psychological torment and dislocation described in Leviticus 26:36 (mourning of heart and frantic flight).
Alternative generated candidates
- As for those of you who remain, I will bring faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.
- And as for those of you who are left, I will bring faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.
Lev.26.37 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכשלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- באחיו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+suff_3ms
- כמפני: PREP
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ורדף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- ולא: CONJ
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- תקומה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לפני: PREP
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:17 (verbal): Same covenant-suit of curses: God warns Israel they will be slain before their enemies and will flee—even when no one pursues—closely paralleling the image of falling and having no power to stand.
- Leviticus 26:29 (structural): Another curse in the same passage portraying social collapse and internecine violence (sons and daughters eaten), part of the broader motif of people turning on one another in the covenant curse sequence.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (thematic): Deuteronomy's curse-language likewise depicts defeat before foes and flight (‘‘the LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies…you shall go out one way and flee seven ways’’), echoing Lev.26:37’s theme of helplessness before enemies.
- Ezekiel 5:10 (allusion): Prophetic depiction of extreme societal breakdown—parents and children killing/eating one another—resonates with Leviticus’ portrayal of internecine slaughter and communal collapse under divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- They shall stumble one over another as before the sword, though no one pursues; and you shall have no standing before your enemies.
- They shall stumble over one another as before a sword, though none pursues; and you shall have no standing before your enemies.
Lev.26.38 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואבדתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואכלה: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:33 (verbal): Same chapter and covenant context; earlier curse explicitly states God will 'scatter you among the nations' and make the land desolate — closely parallel language and thought to 'you shall perish among the nations.'
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (thematic): Part of the Deuteronomic form of the covenant curses: God will 'scatter you among all peoples' and you will be few among the nations, echoing Leviticus' warning of destruction and exile among foreign peoples.
- Ezekiel 36:19-20 (allusion): Ezekiel describes Israel brought 'into the nations' because of uncleanness and profaning God's name — reflects prophetic reflection on exile language (being among the nations) and its theological rationale similar to Leviticus' curse motif.
- 2 Kings 17:6 (structural): Historical fulfillment narrative: the northern kingdom is carried into Assyria. This event illustrates the Levitical warning that Israel would be removed and live among other nations, a concrete realization of the curse 'you shall perish among the nations.'
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall consume you.
- You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Lev.26.39 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנשארים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- בכם: PREP+PRON,2,m,pl
- ימקו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בעונם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- בארצת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- איביכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,pl
- ואף: CONJ
- בעונת: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- אבתם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ימקו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:38 (structural): Immediate context in the same covenant‑curse section: both verses describe the fate of the remnants—being few, fainting/rotting and suffering in the lands of their enemies as part of the same sequence of punishments.
- Exodus 20:5 (verbal): Uses the same legal/theological motif of God 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children' (generational punishment), echoing Lev.26:39's language about suffering because of the iniquity of their fathers.
- Exodus 34:7 (verbal): Reiterates the phrase 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children' and couples divine judgment with mercy language; parallels Lev.26:39 in attributing the remnant's suffering to ancestral sin.
- Deuteronomy 28:65–67 (thematic): Depicts survivors left among foreign nations who suffer continual fear, longing for but not finding rest/return—thematically parallel to Lev.26:39's picture of those left 'pining away' in the lands of their enemies because of sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Those of you who remain shall waste away in their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers—with them—they shall waste away.
- And those of you who remain shall waste away in their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall waste away with them.
Lev.26.40 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והתודו: VERB,hithpael,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- עונם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
- ואת: CONJ
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבתם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss3,m,pl
- במעלם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss3,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- מעלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ואף: CONJ
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- בקרי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 106:6-7 (verbal): Both confess communal and ancestral sin—'we have sinned, we and our fathers'—mirroring Lev 26:40's admission of their iniquity and that of their fathers.
- Daniel 9:4-6,8-9 (verbal): Daniel's prayer explicitly confesses the sins of Israel and their fathers and appeals to God's covenant mercy, echoing Lev 26:40's corporate confession and plea for restoration.
- Nehemiah 1:6-7 (verbal): Nehemiah confesses the sins of Israel and their ancestors and acknowledges covenantal guilt, closely paralleling the language and communal/ancestral focus of Lev 26:40.
- Jeremiah 14:20 (verbal): Jeremiah's lament includes the admission 'we acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord, the iniquity of our fathers,' directly resonant with Lev 26:40's theme of confession of both personal and ancestral sin.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (thematic): This verse prescribes humility, prayer, and seeking God's face for national forgiveness, thematically linked to Lev 26:40's expectation that the people confess and return after sinning.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers—their treachery that they committed against me, and also that they walked with me in hostility.
- Then they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers—their treachery that they committed against me—and also that they walked with me in hostility,
Lev.26.41 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אף: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אלך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- עמם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בקרי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg+PRON,1,sg
- והבאתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,m,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- איביהם: NOUN,m,pl+PRON,3,m,pl
- או: CONJ
- אז: ADV
- יכנע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לבבם: NOUN,m,sg+PRON,3,m,pl
- הערל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואז: CONJ+ADV
- ירצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- עונם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 30:1-3 (verbal): Both passages set a conditional pattern: when Israel returns/repents, the LORD will act to restore them—language about being brought back to the land echoes Leviticus’ promise of reversal following humbled hearts.
- Hosea 5:15 (verbal): God withdraws/judges Israel but will ‘return’ when they ‘acknowledge their guilt’—parallel to Leviticus’ trope of divine departure and eventual return contingent on a humbled (uncircumcised) heart.
- Jeremiah 29:12-14 (thematic): Promises that when exiles call and seek the LORD he will hear them and bring them back from captivity—echoes the exile/restoration dynamic tied to repentance in Leviticus 26:41.
- Ezekiel 36:31-32 (thematic): Repentance (shame/returning) leads to God’s restorative action so that they know his purposes—connects Leviticus’ link between humbled hearts, confession of iniquity, and divine response.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (thematic): The well-known promise that if God’s people humble themselves, pray and turn from sin God will heal/restore the land parallels Leviticus’ conditional formula linking humility over sin to God’s favorable action.
Alternative generated candidates
- I also will walk with them in hostility and will bring them into the land of their enemies; then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and then they will accept their punishment for their iniquity.
- I also walked with them in hostility and brought them into the land of their enemies—then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and then they will accept the punishment of their iniquity,
Lev.26.42 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וזכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- יעקוב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואף: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- יצחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואף: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- אברהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אזכר: VERB,qal,impf,1,com,sg
- והארץ: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אזכר: VERB,qal,impf,1,com,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 2:24 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language: God 'remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob' — a direct verbal parallel to Leviticus' declaration of remembering the patriarchal covenant.
- Psalm 105:8-11 (verbal): Explicitly affirms God remembering and keeping the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the grant of the land — echoes both the covenantal names and promise of the land.
- Genesis 17:7 (thematic): Establishes the original covenant with Abraham ('I will establish my covenant...'), which Leviticus recalls as the covenant God will remember — foundational antecedent to the Leviticus affirmation.
- Deuteronomy 7:9 (thematic): Affirms God as faithful, 'keeping covenant and mercy' with those who love him — thematically parallels Leviticus' assurance that God will remember and uphold his covenant.
- Leviticus 26:45 (structural): Immediate chapter-parallel: other verses in the same section reiterate God's pledge not to utterly destroy Israel and to remember his covenant with the patriarchs, reinforcing the chapter's covenant-restoration theme.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham I will remember; and the land I will remember.
- and I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember, and I will remember the land.
Lev.26.43 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והארץ: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תעזב: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ותרץ: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שבתתיה: NOUN,f,pl,poss3,f,sg
- בהשמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- מהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- ירצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- עונם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
- יען: CONJ
- וביען: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- במשפטי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,poss1,sg
- מאסו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- חקתי: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- געלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נפשם: NOUN,f,sg,poss3,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:34-35 (structural): Immediate context — continues the same oracle: the land will keep its sabbaths while it lies desolate because the people are exiled for rejecting God's statutes.
- 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 (quotation): Chronicles explicitly cites the exile as fulfillment of the law (land keeping its sabbaths), linking the Babylonian exile to the Levitical warning about desolation.
- Ezekiel 20:12-24 (thematic): Ezekiel recounts that Israel profaned God’s statutes and Sabbaths and as a result receives punishment and exile — same causal link between despising statutes and the land’s desolation.
- Deuteronomy 28:63-65 (verbal): The Deuteronomic curse traditions use language of scattering, land devastation, and exile as consequences of rejecting God’s commandments, closely paralleling Lev 26’s warnings.
- Jeremiah 25:11 (thematic): Jeremiah prophesies seventy years of desolation and exile as judgment for Israel’s sins; this reflects the Levitical theme that covenant disobedience brings foreign exile and land desolation.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the land shall be left by them and shall enjoy its Sabbaths while it is desolate without them; and they shall accept their punishment, because—yes, because—they rejected my ordinances, and their soul loathed my statutes.
- For the land shall be abandoned by them and shall enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they shall accept the punishment of their iniquity, because—even because—they rejected my ordinances, and their soul loathed my statutes.
Lev.26.44 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואף: CONJ
- גם: ADV
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- בהיותם: PREP+VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- איביהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:3mp
- לא: PART_NEG
- מאסתים: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- געלתים: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- לכלתם: VERB,qal,inf,3,m,pl
- להפר: VERB,qal,inf
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUF,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Lev.26:42 (verbal): Immediate verbal parallel within the chapter: God promises to 'remember my covenant with Jacob...and the land' — part of the same refrain affirming he will not utterly cast off Israel.
- Lev.26:45 (structural): Closely connected verse that repeats the covenantal assurance after the list of punishments: God will remember the covenant and not destroy or utterly reject Israel.
- Deut.30:1-3 (thematic): Theme of exile and return: though Israel is punished and taken into exile, God will restore them, turn their captivity and not abandon his covenant people.
- Ps.89:30-34 (thematic): Covenantal motif: even when God's servants are punished for disobedience, God insists he will not utterly remove his steadfast love or break his covenant (parallels the promise not to cast Israel away).
- Ezek.39:25-29 (thematic): Post-exilic restoration language: God declares he will bring back the captivity of Jacob and 'not hide my face any more' from Israel — echoing the assurance that he will not utterly reject them.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet even so, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I abhor them to destroy them, to break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.
- Yet even so, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I abhor them to destroy them, to break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.
Lev.26.45 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וזכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ראשנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הוצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- להית: VERB,qal,inf,-,-,-
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לאלהים: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:42 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same chapter: God twice promises 'I will remember my covenant' with the patriarchs (Jacob/Israel), echoing the language and assurance of restoration.
- Exodus 2:24 (verbal): Early covenant-memory formula: 'God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob' after Israel's affliction in Egypt—same motif of God remembering the covenant tied to the Exodus.
- Deuteronomy 7:9 (thematic): Affirms God's faithfulness to his covenant ('keeps covenant and steadfast love')—theological background for Leviticus' claim that God will remember and remain Israel's God.
- Psalm 106:45 (verbal): Uses near-identical wording ('for their sake he remembered his covenant'), applying the covenant-memory motif to Israel's deliverance and divine mercy—echo of Leviticus' promise.
- Ezekiel 16:60 (allusion): Prophetic recurrence of the theme: 'I will remember my covenant with you'—Ezekiel frames divine remembering as the basis for future restoration, echoing Leviticus' covenantal promise.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will remember for them the covenant of the former ones, whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, to be their God—I am the LORD.
- I will remember for them the covenant of the ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, to be their God: I am the LORD.
Lev.26.46 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- החקים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והמשפטים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- והתורת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בינו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- סיני: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lev.27:34 (verbal): Nearly identical closing formula for the book: restates that these are the commandments the LORD gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
- Exod.24:3-8 (structural): Narrative of the Sinai covenant ceremony where Moses reads the ordinances and the people accept them—parallels Leviticus’ framing of laws as a covenant given at Sinai.
- Deut.5:2-3 (thematic): Affirms that the LORD made a covenant with Israel at Horeb/Sinai and delivered commandments through Moses—same Sinai-covenant theme and mediation by Moses.
- Deut.29:1 (structural): Opens a covenantal address with words like 'These are the words of the covenant… which the LORD commanded Moses,' paralleling Leviticus’ presentation of statutes as covenantal instructions delivered by Moses.
Alternative generated candidates
- These are the statutes and the ordinances and the instructions that the LORD set between himself and the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
- These are the statutes and the ordinances and the instructions that the LORD set between himself and the Israelites on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,
and if you reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances so as not to do all my commandments, to break my covenant,
then I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you panic, wasting disease and fever that dim the eyes and drain the life-breath; and you shall sow your seed in vain, and your enemies shall eat it.
I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. And if, after all this, you do not listen to me, then I will continue to discipline you sevenfold for your sins.
I will break the pride of your strength, and I will make your heavens like iron and your land like bronze.
Your strength shall be spent in vain; your land shall not give its yield, and the tree of the land shall not give its fruit. And if you walk with me in hostility and are not willing to listen to me, then I will add against you a plague sevenfold for your sins.
I will send against you the wild animals of the field, and they shall bereave you, and cut off your livestock, and make you few, and your roads shall be desolate. And if by these you are not corrected, and you walk with me in hostility,
then I also will walk with you in hostility, and I, even I, will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
I will bring against you a sword exacting the vengeance of the covenant; and you shall be gathered into your cities, and I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy.
When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall return your bread by weight; and you shall eat and not be satisfied. And if with this you do not listen to me, and you walk with me in hostility,
then I will walk with you in furious hostility, and I, even I, will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.
You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.
I will destroy your high places and cut down your sun-pillars, and I will lay your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul will abhor you.
I will make your cities a ruin and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. And I, I will make the land desolate, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be appalled at it. And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a ruin.
Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of its desolation, while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.
All the days of its desolation it shall rest—what it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling upon it.
As for those of you who survive, I will bring faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues.
They shall stumble over one another as before the sword, though none pursues; and you shall have no standing before your enemies.
You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall consume you. And those of you who remain shall rot away in their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of their fathers’ iniquity they shall rot away. But they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against me, and also that they walked with me in hostility.
I also will walk with them in hostility and will bring them into the land of their enemies; then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and then they will make amends for their iniquity.
Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham I will remember; and I will remember the land. But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because—indeed, because—they rejected my ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes.
Yet even so, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I abhor them to destroy them, to break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But I will remember for them the covenant of the ancestors, whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, to be their God: I am the LORD.
These are the statutes and the ordinances and the instructions that the LORD gave between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through Moses.