I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your sky like iron, and your soil like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won’t yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
“ ‘If you walk contrary to me, and won’t listen to me, then I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins. I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number. Your roads will become desolate.
“ ‘If by these things you won’t be turned back to me, but will walk contrary to me, then I will also walk contrary to you; and I will strike you, even I, seven times for your sins. I will bring a sword upon you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be gathered together within your cities, and I will send the pestilence among you. You will be delivered 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 deliver your bread again by weight. You shall eat, and not be satisfied.
“ ‘If you in spite of this won’t listen to me, but walk contrary to me, then I will walk contrary to you in wrath. I will also chastise you seven times for your sins. You will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 21, 22, 26 Ye shall have drought and barrenness, Hag. 1:10.
Ye shall have drought and barrenness, Hag. 1:10.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–29 Lev 26:19 And I will break the pride of…
Lev 26:19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Ver. 19. Your heaven as iron.] Hard hearts make hard times.
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“ En quia iam nobis sint ferrea pectora, reddit
Coelum etiam nobis durius aere Deus.
Et quia iam nummos gignant pro faenore nummi:
Ante ferax tellus desinit esse ferax. ”{ a}
{a} Bill. Anthol., lib. ii.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 The pride of your power, i.e. your strength, of…
The pride of your power, i.e. your strength, of which you are proud, your numerous and united forces, your kingdom, yea, your ark and sanctuary.
Your earth as brass; the heavens shall yield you no rain, nor the earth fruits.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–29 And your strength shall be spent in vain,.... In…
And your strength shall be spent in vain,.... In endeavouring to till the ground, to plough, or sow, or to dig about the vines or olives, and prune them:
for your land shall not yield its increase; produce corn, and bring forth grass, the one for the use of men, the other for the use of the cattle, and therefore both must starve:
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neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits; such as vines, olives, figs, pomegranates, &c. which were very plentiful in the land of Judea, and on which they much lived, and on which their more comfortable subsistence at least depended, see Hab 3:17; all this is the reverse of Lev 26:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20, 25, 26, 29 In vain - in plowing, and sowing, and tilling…
In vain - in plowing, and sowing, and tilling the ground.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv22, 26, 29 Verse 22. I will also send wild beasts among…
Verse 22. I will also send wild beasts among you] God fulfilled these threatenings at different times. He sent fiery SERPENTS among them, Nu 21:6; LIONS, 2Kg 17:25; BEARS, 2Kg 2:24, and threatened them with total desolation, so that their land should be overrun with wild beasts, c., see Eze 5:17. "Spiritually," says Mr. Ainsworth, "these are wicked rulers and tyrants that kill and spoil, Pr 28:15; Da 7:3-6; Ps 80:13; and false prophets that devour souls, Mt 7:15; Re 13:1, c. So the prophet, speaking of their punishment by tyrants, says: A LION out of the forest shall slay them a WOLF of the evening shall spoil them; a LEOPARD shall watch over their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn to pieces, because their transgressions be many. And of their prophets it is said: O Israel, thy prophets are like FOXES in the deserts, Eze 13:4; Jer 8:17; Jer 15:3."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 Lev 26:19-20. The pride of your power — That…
Lev 26:19-20. The pride of your power — That is, your strength, of which you are proud, your numerous and united forces, your kingdom, yea, your ark and sanctuary. I will make your heaven as iron — The heavens shall yield you no rain, nor the earth, fruits. Your strength shall be spent in vain — In ploughing, and sowing, and tilling the ground.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv19, 22, 26, 28, 29 As brass (æneam). "Brazen," without moisture, and barren. (Onkelos)
As brass (æneam). "Brazen," without moisture, and barren. (Onkelos)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv19, 22, 26, 29 I will make your heaven as iron, and your…
I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass--No figures could have been employed to convey a better idea of severe and long-continued famine.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29 19, 20. Pride of… power — The conceit of…
19, 20. Pride of… power — The conceit of national puissance, which is so unlike the spirit of dependence and humility, must be eradicated by painful methods.
Heaven as iron — The rain promised to the obedient shall be withheld from the disobedient. See Lev_26:4, note.
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Earth as brass — Through lack of water the fields will be as void of herbage as if metallic.
They shall yield no increase under the divine curse, in amazing contrast to the plethoric garners promised in Lev_26:4-5. In respect to spiritual good, the same contrast exists now between those who distrust and those who fully believe the promise of the Father respecting the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29 19. the pride of your power] the pride with…
19. the pride of your power] the pride with which ye rely upon your prosperity and the fruitfulness of your land. The expression is found elsewhere only in Ezekiel, where in Eze_7:24 LXX., Eze_24:21, Eze_33:28 it refers to the fall of the nation and the destruction of Jerusalem; in Eze_30:6; Eze_30:18, the phrase is applied to Egypt.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–29 (19) And I will break the pride of your…
(19) And I will break the pride of your power.—That is, the strength which is the cause of your pride, the wealth which they derive from the abundant harvests mentioned in Lev_26:4-5, as is evident from what follows immediately, where the punishment is threatened against the resources of this power or wealth. Comp. Eze_30:6; Eze_33:28.) The authorities during the second Temple, however, took the phrase “the pride of your power” to denote the sanctuary, which is called “the pride of your power” in Eze_24:21. the expression used here, but the identity of which is obliterated in the Authorised Version by rendering the phrase “the excellency of your strength.” Hence the Chaldee Versions paraphrase it, “And I will break down the glory of the strength of your sanctuary.”
I will make your heaven as iron.—That is, the heaven which is over them shall yield no more rain than if it were of metal. In Deu_28:23, where the same punishment is threatened, and the same figure is used, the metals are reversed, the heaven is brass, and the earth iron.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21, 23, 27 Vers. 21, 22. Punishment in its third degree. I…
Vers. 21, 22. Punishment in its third degree. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number. So in the case of the Assyrians transported to Palestine, "At the beginning of their dwelling there, they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them" (2Ki_17:25) and your high ways shall be desolate. Cf. Jud_1:5:6, "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways.
Threatenings.
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I Actually fulfilled in history of the Jews, especially at siege of Jerusalem, A.D. 70.
II Illustrating the moral nature of man as connected with a moral government.
III Taken in order of announcement after the promises, reminding us that God willeth not the death of a sinner. The brightness of the love on the background of righteousness. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v27 Then I will walk contrary unto you.
Lev_26:27-39
Then I will walk contrary unto you.
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Gods determination to punish sinners
I. As affecting supposition stated. If ye will not, &c. The Lord here supposes that His people may commit three grievous sins:
1. The sin of disobedience. If ye will not hearken unto Me. Hence observe--
(1) That the Lord in His Word speaks to us (Heb_8:12).
(2) That whatever the Lord says in His Word it is our bounden duty to hear (Heb_3:7; 1Th_5:20; Jam_1:19).
(3) That we are too apt to turn a deaf ear to Him (Exo_5:2; Psa_12:4).
2. The sin of incorrigibleness. If for all this ye will not hearken. Note here--
(1) That afflictions sometimes have the nature of punishments (Jer_13:21).
(2) That punishment is the natural and necessary consequence of transgression.
(3) That in the punishment which God inflicts He seeks our reformation (2Ch_18:22).
(4) That our depravity in too many cases frustrates His designs (Zep_3:2).
3. The sin of perverseness. If ye walk contrary to Me. Observe again--
(1) That the Lords pleasure is, we should walk with Him (Mic_6:8).
(2) That we walk with the Lord when we walk in His way (2Ki_20:3; Ecc_12:13).
(3) That walking otherwise than He has commanded is to show a perverse and untoward heart.
II. An awful consequence declared. I will walk contrary also to you in fury. Thus we see that--
1. Conformable to our character will be our end. If God should deal thus with us
(1) We shall lose the blessing which He imparts to> His obedient followers (Lev_26:4-12).
(2) Our expectations will issue in disappointment and vexation (Hos_8:7); and
(3) Like chaff before the wind we shall speedily be carried to destruction (Psa_1:4-5).
2. Enforcement of these considerations: we see--
(1) That a religion consisting of mere notions will never saw a man.
(2) That men are not at liberty, as some suppose, to live as they please.
(3) That God takes notice of the ways of all.
(4) That if He displays His anger we should be anxious to find out the cause; and
(5) That if any one perish he will have no one to blame for it but himself (Isa_3:11). (Wm. Sleigh.)
Desolation threatened to Israel
I. How horrifying the miseries which may befall a privileged people. The miseries of penury and siege (Lev_26:29); of captivity and slaughter (Lev_26:33); of anguish and derision (Lev_26:36); of pitiless misery and disaster (Lev_26:39).
1. None are so secure in grace and privilege that they can disregard the possibility of a fall.
2. None are so rich in sacred favours as to be beyond danger of their total loss.
3. None are so honoured by Gods selecting and distinguishing grace but they may lapse into alienation and desolation.
II. How amazing the disasters which may devastate a beautiful country. Canaan was a wealthy land, a scene of loveliness, abundance, and delight. Yet on it came the disasters of depopulation (Lev_26:31), sterility (Lev_26:32), desertion (Lev_26:35)--even enemies abandoning it.
1. National plenty and prosperity are conditional upon national righteousness and piety.
2. National greatness and glory have been withered by the anger of an insulted God.
3. National strength and safety are only guaranteed as religion is fostered by the laws of a country, and in the habits and lives of its people.
III. How piteous the profanation which may despoil a nations sanctities! Canaan was the scene of Jehovahs sanctuary: the Temple rose on Zion; and the land sent up her tribes to the celebration of sacred feasts and to the holy worship of God. Yet all her sanctuaries were brought unto desolation (Lev_26:31), all the fragrance of her sacrifices became loathsome to Jehovah (Lev_26:31), and her desecrated Sabbaths were avenged in the bleak silence and loneliness which fell on hallowed scenes (Lev_26:34).
1. Religious favours, if abused, may be utterly withdrawn from us.
2. God loathes the offerings once delightful to Him, when the offerers love is estranged.
3. Holy scenes and holy days become a barren mockery if a trifling spirit alienate the sacred Presence: Ichabod! (W. H. Jellie.)
Verse 40-45. If they shall confess their iniquity.
Gods promises to penitents
I. What is that repentance which God requires?
1. That we acknowledge our guilt. Our fathers sins as well as our own are first grounds of national humiliation. Our own sins are the chief burden of personal contrition. But sin should be viewed in its true light, as walking contrary to God (Psa_51:4).
2. That we justify God in His judgments. If we have dared to walk contrary to Him, is not He justified in walking contrary to us? Whatever inflictions He imposes we have reason to own it as less than our deserts (Ezr_9:13), and that His judgments are just (Rev_16:7).
3. That we be thankful for His dealings by which He has humbled our uncircumcised hearts. Only real contrition can produce this. It realises mercy in judgment, and love in affliction.
II. The connection between our repentance and Gods mercy. Repentance is void of merit. Even obedience is destitute of merit; when we have done all we could we are unprofitable servants. The acknowledgment of a debt is a very different thing from a discharge of that debt. A condemned criminal may be sorry for his offences, but that sorrow does not obliterate his crime, still less entitle him to rewards. Yet there is connection between repentance and pardon, and meekness in the exercise of mercy towards the penitent--
1. On Gods part. For repentance glorifies God (Jos_7:19).
2. On the part of the penitents. It incites to loathing of the sin, and to adoration of Divine grace. So God insists on the condition, If they be humbled, then will I pardon. For then God can do it consistently with His honour, and they will make a suitable improvement of the mercy vouchsafed them.
III. The ground and measure of that mercy which penitents may expect. Gods covenant with their ancestors was the basis and warrant of His mercy to Israel (Lev_26:42; Lev_26:44-45). His covenant with us in Christ is our hope and guarantee.
1. Be thankful that you are yet within reach of mercy.
2. Have especial respect unto the covenant of grace. It is to that God looks, and to that should we look also. It is the only basis on which mercy and redemption are possible. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
The bow in the cloud
I. That the way was left open for the rebellious to return.
1. It was the way of reflection.
2. It was the way of confession.
3. It was the way of humiliation.
They were not to return proudly, feeling they had not been rewarded according to their iniquities. The way is still open for the vilest to return; for, the New Testament teaches that these are the steps in the ladder of life, out of sin to holiness, from earth to heaven, from self to God, viz.: Repentance, conversion, consecration.
II. That if the rebellious returned to the lord in his own appointed way he would graciously receive them.
1. He would do so for the sake of their fathers. He would remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
2. He would do so for the sake of His name. For I am the Lord. He had purposed, as well as promised, to deal mercifully with them.
3. He would do so for the sake of the land. He had selected Canaan as the arena where He would specially display His glory to men, and He would not allow it to lie waste for ever.
4. He would do it for the sake of His covenant. I will remember My covenant. The Lord does not make a covenant and then tear it rashly to pieces; if broken by man He will speedily renew, nor allow the irregularities and irreligion of men to thwart His beneficent arrangements. Here, indeed, was a resplendent bow of many colours, beaming with the beautiful light of the mild and merciful countenance of the Most High. What encouragement for sinful men to return to the Lord, for He will have mercy upon them, and abundantly pardon. The Levitical law closes with offers of mercy, the last words of the law are words of entreaty and promise. (W. H. Jellie.)
Gains of a good ancestry
I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors.
I. The vows and prayers of a goodly parentage exercise influence upon the divine plans. That covenant is thrice referred to as determining Gods arrangements (Lev_26:42; Lev_26:44-45). Note Jobs prayers for his children (Job_1:5; cf. with verse 10), Made a hedge about Job and about his house.
II. Over long intervals the influence of parental covenants extend. This covenant with Abraham was made 1900 years B.C. (Gen_15:13-14). It is now 1900 years A.D., yet the word stands, They are beloved for the fathers sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom_11:28-29). God is at work, though He seems to wait. In due season ye shall reap if ye faint not. Praying soul, anxious heart, clinging to the promises--Hope, and be undismayed; God hears thy cries, and counts thy tears, God shall lift up thy head.
III. How grand the link between a parents piety and the childrens destiny!
1. Live and pray for your descendants.
2. Value the sacred benefits even though as yet unrealised, of a godly ancestry.
3. Rest in the unfailing pledge of God to reward piety and prayer. (W. H. Jellie.)
The advantage of submission
It is recorded of Edward I., that, being angry with a servant of his in the sport of hawking, he threatened him sharply. The gentleman answered, It was well there was a river between them. Hereat the king, more incensed, spurred his horse into the depth of the river, not without extreme danger of his life, the water being deep and the banks too steep and high for his ascending, Yet, at last recovering land, with his sword drawn, he pursued the servant, who rode as fast from him. But finding himself too ill-horsed to outride the angry king, he reined, lighted, and, on his knees, exposed his neck to the blow of the kings sword. The king no sooner saw this but he put up his sword and would not touch him. A dangerous water could not withhold him from violence; yet his servants submission did soon pacify him. While man flies stubbornly from God, He that rides upon the wings of the wind posts after him with sword of vengeance drawn. But when in dust and ashes he humbles himself, and stands to His mercy, the wrath of God is soon appeased..
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21, 23, 25, 27, 29 walk against me
walk against me
Walking represents behavior. Walking against God represents opposing him or rebelling against him. AT: "rebel against me" (See: Metaphor)
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I will bring seven times more blows on you
The abstract noun "blows" can be stated as the verb "hit." AT: "I will hit you seven times as much" (See: Abstract Nouns)
I will bring seven times more blows on you
Yahweh causing disasters to happen to the Israelites is spoken of as if he would strike them with blows or hit them. AT: "I will cause seven times as many disasters to come against you" or "I will punish you seven times more severely" (See: Metaphor)
seven times
Here "seven times" is not literal. It means Yahweh will increase the severity of his punishment. (See: Idiom)
in proportion to your sins
The noun "sins" can be expressed with the verb "sin." AT: "according to how much you have sinned" (See: Abstract Nouns)
which will steal your children
Stealing represents attacking or attacking and dragging them away. AT: "which will attack your children" or "which will drag your children away" (See: Metaphor)
So your roads will become deserted
"So no one will travel on your roads." Deserted means that there is no one there.
translationWords
walk
cow
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 29 26:19-20 If God withholds rain, the ground will be…
26:19-20 If God withholds rain, the ground will be hard and unproductive.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.