| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Leviticus
Chapter Twenty-six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 26
In
this chapter
after a repetition of some laws against idolatry
and concerning
keeping sabbaths
and reverencing the sanctuary of God
Leviticus 26:1; in
order to encourage the Israelites to keep the various statutes and commandments
in this book
and in the preceding
many promises are made of plenty
and
peace
and safety from enemies
and of the presence of God with them
Leviticus 26:3; and
on the contrary
to such as should despise and break his commandments
the most
grievous things are threatened
as diseases of body
destruction by their
enemies
barrenness and unfruitfulness of land
the sore judgments of wild
beasts
famine
sword
and pestilence
Leviticus 26:14;
and yet after all
when they should confess their sins
and were humbled for
them
the Lord promises to remember the covenant he made with their ancestors
and would deal kindly with them
and not cast them away
and utterly destroy
them
Leviticus 26:40.
Leviticus 26:1. ‘You
shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred
pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone
in your land
to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God.
YLT 1`Ye do not make to yourselves idols; and
graven image or standing image ye do not set up to yourselves; and a stone of
imagery ye do not put in your land
to bow yourselves to it; for I [am] Jehovah
your God.
Ye shall have no idols
or graven image
.... Some of
the Jewish writers
as Jarchi and Aben Ezra
think this law against idolatry is
mentioned on account of the Israelite sold to a stranger
spoken of in the
latter part of the preceding chapter
lest he should be drawn into idolatry;
See Gill on Leviticus 25:48; but
this is rather mentioned as being a principal law
respecting the honour and
glory of God
and the foundation of all religion and godliness
and the breach
of it a capital crime
and which led on to other sins
and exposed to the
displeasure and resentment of God
and brought on all the calamities after
mentioned in this chapter. "Idols" here signify "things of
nought"
as an idol is nothing in the world
1 Corinthians 8:4;
and a "graven image"
any likeness of man or beast cut out of wood
or stone; and may include any molten image of gold
silver
or brass
and then
engraven with a tool
as the golden calf was
Exodus 32:4
neither rear you up a standing image; or pillarF7מצבה στηλην
Sept. "titulos"
V. L. "titulum"
Samar. Ar.
"pillar"
Ainsworth. ; an heap of rude stones
set up pillar
not
bearing the likeness of any creature; otherwise graven and molten images were
standing ones
but these were statues without any figure; such as the Arabians
used to worship; the god Mars
worshipped in Arabia Petraea
was no other than
a black stone four square
unformed
four feet high
and two broad
and was
placed on a basis of goldF8"Suidas in voce" θευς αρης Vid. Arnob. adv.
Gentes
l. 6. p. 232. :
neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land
to
bow down unto; any "figured stone"
as the Targum and Aben Ezra
interpret it
which had figures and representations of creatures cut in it
in
order to bow down unto and worship: the word has the signification of covering
as they cover a floor with a pavement of stones:
for I am the Lord your God; who is the alone object
of religious worship and adoration.
Leviticus 26:2. 2 You
shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
YLT 2`My sabbaths ye do keep
and My sanctuary ye
do reverence; I [am] Jehovah.
Ye shall keep my sabbaths
.... The seventh day
sabbaths
and the seventh year sabbaths; especially the former are meant
in
which religious worship was given to the one true and living God
and therefore
the observance of them is strictly enjoined; and hence this law follows closely
upon the former
though Aben Ezra restrains it to the sabbatical years
or
seventh year sabbaths
as he applies the sanctuary in the following clause to
the jubilee year
which is said to be holy
Leviticus 26:12;
supposing that this refers unto and stands in strict connection with the laws
of the preceding chapter
concerning the sabbatical
Leviticus 25:1
and
jubilee years
Leviticus 25:8
and reverence my sanctuary; by attending in it
and
on the worship in it
with reverence and godly fear
see Leviticus 19:30
I am the Lord; who had a right to such
religious worship
and to command such things
in which he ought to be obeyed
his sabbaths kept
and sanctuary reverenced.
Leviticus 26:3. 3 ‘If
you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments
and perform them
YLT 3`If in My statutes ye walk
and My commands
ye keep
and have done them
If ye walk in my statutes
and keep my commandments
and do them. Both moral
ceremonial
and judicial
which had been delivered unto them
and now
completely recorded in this and the preceding book; for what follow in the two
next are chiefly repetitions of what are contained in these.
Leviticus 26:4. 4 then
I will give you rain in its season
the land shall yield its produce
and the
trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
YLT 4then I have given your rains in their season
and the land hath given her produce
and the tree of the field doth give its
fruit;
Then I will give you rain in due season
.... The
former and latter rain
in the two seasons of the year in which rain usually
fell
and the Scriptures frequently speak of; and when the land of Israel
which required rain
not being watered with a river
as Egypt
was blessed with
it; the one was at the sowing of their seed
or a little after it
and the
other a little before harvest; and when it was had in those times it was had in
due season
and hence the word is in the plural number
"your rains"F9גשמיכם "pluvias vestras"
Pagninus
Montanus
Tigurine version
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ; unless showers of rain
are meant: to encourage to keep the commands of God
promises of many outward
good things are made; and this is the first
being a principal blessing
and
which only God
and not all the vanities of the Gentiles
could give:
and the land shall yield her increase; which is
greatly owing to seasonable showers of rain
by which means the earth brings
forth bread to the eater and seed to the sower
corn and grass for man and
beast:
and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit; vines
olives
pomegranates
figs
&c. are meant
with which the land of Israel
abounded
Deuteronomy 8:8.
Leviticus 26:5. 5 Your
threshing shall last till the time of vintage
and the vintage shall last till
the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full
and dwell in your
land safely.
YLT 5and reached to you hath the threshing
the
gathering
and the gathering doth reach the sowing-[time]; and ye have eaten
your bread to satiety
and have dwelt confidently in your land.
And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage
and the vintage
shall reach unto the sowing time
.... Signifying that
there should be such plentiful harvests of barley and wheat
the first of which
began in March
as would employ them in threshing them out unto the time of
vintage
which may be supposed to
be in the month of July; for on the twenty
ninth of Sivan
which was about the middle of June
was the time of the first
ripe grapes
as appears; see Gill on Numbers 13:20; and
that they should have such quantities of grapes on their vines
as would employ
them in gathering and pressing them until seedtime
which was usually in
October
see Amos 9:13
and ye shall eat your bread to the full; which is put
for all provisions; and the meaning is
they should have plenty of food
eat
full meals
or however
what they ate
whether little or much
should be
satisfying and refreshing to them
having it with a divine blessing:
and dwell in your land safely; would have no need to go
out of it into other lands for the sake of food
and would be in no danger from
enemies invading them and carrying off their substance; plenty without safety
would not be so great a blessing as with it
since
though they had it
they
might be deprived of it
wherefore security from enemies is promised.
Leviticus 26:6. 6 I
will give peace in the land
and you shall lie down
and none will make you
afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts
and the sword will not go through
your land.
YLT 6`And I have given peace in the land
and ye
have lain down
and there is none causing trembling; and I have caused evil
beasts to cease out of the land
and the sword doth not pass over into your
land.
And I will give peace in the land
.... Among yourselves
as
Aben Ezra; that as safety from enemies is promised before
here it is assured
they should be free from insurrections and from riots
broils
contentions
and
civil wars among themselves:
and ye shall lie down
and none shall make you afraid; that is
lie
down upon their beds
and sleep quietly and comfortably
and not be in any fear
of thieves and robbers breaking in upon them
Psalm 3:5
and I will rid evil beasts out of the land: out of the
land of Israel
as the Targum of Jonathan
not out of the world
such as lions
bears
wolves
&c. which were sometimes troublesome and mischievous in the
land:
neither shall the sword go through your land; either the
sword of the enemy
which if it entered should not be suffered to proceed
much
less to pervade the land and destroy the inhabitants of it: so the Targum of
Jonathan
"they that draw the sword shall not pass through your land
'or
the sword of the Lord
that is
the pestilence
1 Chronicles 21:12;
as Ainsworth suggests; though the JewsF11T. Bab. Taanith
fol. 22.
1. 2. commonly understand it of the sword of peace
as they call it
though
that is of one that is not an enemy
but passes through one country to destroy
another; which yet is distressing to the country he passes through
as in the
case of Pharaoh Necho
whom Josiah went out to meet
2 Chronicles 35:20;
though
by what follows
it seems rather to be the first of these.
Leviticus 26:7. 7 You
will chase your enemies
and they shall fall by the sword before you.
YLT 7`And ye have pursued your enemies
and they
have fallen before you by the sword;
And ye shall chase your enemies
.... Who being overcome
in battle
and put to the flight
should be pursued:
and they shall fall before you by the sword; not by the
sword of one another
as the Midianites did
Judges 7:21
so
Jarchi; but rather by the sword of the Israelites
for oftentimes multitudes of
the enemy are killed in a pursuit.
Leviticus 26:8. 8 Five
of you shall chase a hundred
and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to
flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
YLT 8and five of you have pursued a hundred
and a
hundred of you do pursue a myriad; and your enemies have fallen before you by
the sword.
And five of you shall chase an hundred
.... One man
chase twenty:
and an hundred of you put ten thousand to flight; which
had it
been in proportion to the other number
should have been two thousand
as in Deuteronomy 32:30;
where there is a proportion observed; and Abendana observes
there are some
that give the sense of it thus
an hundred of you
an hundred times five
that
is
five hundred
and so it comes up to a right computation; but here it seems
to be a certain number for an uncertain
and only a proverbial expression
signifying that a very few
under the blessing of divine Providence
should get
the advantage over a large number
and oblige them to retire
and pursue them
closely: instances we have of large bodies of the enemy being defeated by a
small number of Israelites
Judges 7:21; and
even many by a single person or two
1 Samuel 14:13
and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword; See Gill on Leviticus 26:7.
Leviticus 26:9. 9 ‘For
I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful
multiply you and confirm My
covenant with you.
YLT 9`And I have turned unto you
and have made
you fruitful
and have multiplied you
and have established My covenant with
you;
For I will have respect unto you
.... Look at them with
delight and pleasure
and with a careful eye on them
watch over them to do
them good
and protect them from all evil; or turn himself to them from all
others
having a particular regard for them and special care of them:
and make you fruitful and multiply you; increase
their number
as he did in Egypt
even amidst all their afflictions; and much
more might they expect this blessing in the land of Canaan
when settled there
which is the original blessing of mankind
see Genesis 1:28
and establish my covenant with you; not the new covenant
spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31; as
Jarchi and other Jewish writersF12Torat Cohenim
apud Yalkut
par.
1. fol. 196. 3. suggest; for that was not to take place but in future time
under the Gospel dispensation; but rather the covenant made with them at Sinai
though perhaps it chiefly respects the covenant made with their ancestors
concerning multiplication of their seed as the stars of heaven and the sand of
the sea
Genesis 15:5
since
it follows upon the promise of an increase of them.
Leviticus 26:10. 10 You
shall eat the old harvest
and clear out the old because of the new.
YLT 10and ye have eaten old [store]
and the old
because of the new ye bring out.
And ye shall eat old store
.... What is very old
corn of three years old
as Jarchi and KimchiF13Sepher Shorash. rad.
ישן. interpret it; such plenty should they have that
it would be so long consuming:
and bring forth the old because of the new; out of their
barns and granaries
to make room for the new
which they should have great
quantities of
and scarce know where to bestow them; and therefore should empty
their treasures and garners of the old
and fill them with new; or they should
bring them forth out of their barns into their houses
to make use of
themselves
or into their markets to expose to sale
being under no temptation
to withhold against a time of scarcity in order to make more of it
see Proverbs 11:26; now
all these temporal blessings promised may be emblems of spiritual things
and
might be so understood by such who were spiritually enlightened; as of the rain
of divine grace
and the blessings of it
and of the doctrines of the Gospel
sometimes compared thereunto
Deuteronomy 32:2;
and of great fruitfulness in grace and good works
and of internal peace in the
minds of good men
and of their safety and security from spiritual enemies; of
fulness of spiritual provisions
even of things new and old
and which are laid
up for them
Song of Solomon 7:13;
thus promises of a spiritual nature more manifestly follow.
Leviticus 26:11. 11 I will set My tabernacle
among you
and My soul shall not abhor you.
YLT 11`And I have given My tabernacle in your
midst
and My soul doth not loathe you;
And I will set my tabernacle amongst you
.... Which God
had directed them to make
and they had made
and also erected; but here he
promises to fix and establish it among them
that so it might continue as a
place for the public worship of him
and where he would take up his residence
and grant them his presence; so the Targum of Jonathan
"I will put the
Shechinah of my glory among you:"
and my soul shall not abhor you; though in themselves
and because of their sins
loathsome and abominable; the Targums of Onkelos and
Jonathan are
"my Word shall not abhor you;'and the whole may have respect
to Christ
the Word made flesh
and tabernacling among them; the tabernacle
being a type and emblem of the human nature of Christ
in which the fulness of
the Godhead dwells bodily
and is the true tabernacle which God pitched and not
man
John 1:14.
Leviticus 26:12. 12 I
will walk among you and be your God
and you shall be My people.
YLT 12and I have walked habitually in your midst
and have become your God
and ye -- ye are become My people;
And I will walk among you
.... As they journeyed
from place to place
he walked among them
in the tabernacle built for him
see
2 Samuel 7:6; it
may be expressive of the familiarity and communion which the Lord grants to his
people
in and through Christ:
and will be your God; to provide for them
and
supply them with all the blessings of his goodness
both in providence and
grace; and to protect and defend them against all their enemies
temporal and
spiritual:
and ye shall be my people; appear to be a special
and peculiar people of his
chosen
redeemed
and sanctified by him
and to
whom he bore a special love
and took special care of; see 2 Corinthians 6:16;
the Targum of Jonathan of the whole is
"I will make the glory of my
Shechinah dwell among you
and my Word shall be unto you for God the Redeemer
and ye shall be to my name for a people of Holy Ones.'
Leviticus 26:13. 13 I
am the Lord
your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
that you should not
be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk
upright.
YLT 13I [am] Jehovah your God
who have brought you
out of the land of the Egyptians
from being their servants; and I break the
bars of your yoke
and cause you to go erect.
I am the Lord your Lord
which brought you forth out of the
land of Egypt
.... Who
having done that
was able to fulfil the above
promises; and which may be considered as an earnest and pledge of them
as well
as be a motive to the Israelites
and an obligation upon them to obey the
commandments of God
and walk in his statutes:
that ye should not be their bondmen; this was the end of
their being brought out of Egypt
that they might be no longer in a state of
bondage to the Egyptians
nor to any other
but to serve the Lord their God
by
whom they were delivered; as those who are redeemed by Christ from worse than
Egyptian bondage
from sin
Satan
and the law
are redeemed
that they might
not be the servants of any
but be a peculiar people
zealous of good works to
serve the Lord Christ:
and I have broken the bands of your yoke; which
fastened it on their shoulders
that is
set them at full liberty
from the
yoke of all their enemies
particularly the Egyptians
who made their lives
bitter in hard bondage
making the yoke of it heavy upon them; as Christ has
broken the yoke of spiritual enemies from off the shoulders and necks of his
people
Isaiah 10:27
and made you go upright; who before stooped under
the yoke
as well as were of dejected countenances
but now were made to walk
in an erect stature
as the Targum of Jonathan
and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra
or
in liberty
as Onkelos; see Galatians 5:1; and
with heads lift up and countenances cheerful.
Leviticus 26:14. 14 ‘But
if you do not obey Me
and do not observe all these commandments
YLT 14`And if ye do not hearken to Me
and do not
all these commands;
But if ye will not hearken unto me
.... To his commandments
as the rule of their duty
and to his promises
as an encouragement to it
or
to his prophets and ministers
explaining and enforcing his law
and exhorting
to a cheerful obedience to it; so the Targum of Jonathan
"if ye will not
hearken to the doctrine of them that teach my laws;'which was the sin of the
Jews in later times
for which captivity and other calamities befell them
Jeremiah 7:25
and will not do all these commandments; which he had
delivered to them by Moses
whether moral
ceremonial
or judicial
recorded in
this book and in the preceding; even all of them were to be respected
attended
to
and performed
for the law curses everyone that does not do all things it
requires
Galatians 3:10.
Leviticus 26:15. 15 and
if you despise My statutes
or if your soul abhors My judgments
so that you do
not perform all My commandments
but break My covenant
YLT 15and if at My statutes ye kick
and if My
judgments your soul loathe
so as not to do all My commands -- to your breaking
My covenant –
And if ye shall despise my statutes
.... Which is an
aggravated sin; to be negligent hearers of the commands of God is bad
not to
be doers of them worse
but to treat them with contempt is worse still:
or if your soul abhor my judgments: which is worst of all
to despise them as if not wisely or righteously made is a dreadful reflection
upon the Maker of them; but to abhor them as bad things
not fit to be
regarded
but to be had in the utmost detestation
is shocking impiety:
so that ye will not do all my commandments; nor any of
them
but are set against them
and determined and resolved on the contrary:
but that ye break my covenant; the covenant
made with them at Sinai
when they promised
on their part
that they would
hearken and be obedient
Exodus 24:7.
Leviticus 26:16. 16 I
also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you
wasting disease
and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall
sow your seed in vain
for your enemies shall eat it.
YLT 16I also do this to you
and I have appointed
over you trouble
the consumption
and the burning fever
consuming eyes
and
causing pain of soul; and your seed in vain ye have sowed
and your enemies
have eaten it;
I also will do this unto you
.... Henceforward follow
threatenings of dreadful evils to the transgressors and despisers of the
commandments of God
which thus begin:
I will even appoint over you terror
consumption
and the burning
ague
that shall consume the eyes
and cause sorrow of heart; some
as Aben
Ezra observes
take these to design what may affect the seed sown and the
increase of it
such as blasting and mildew
because it follows: "ye shall
sow in vain"; but no doubt diseases of the body are intended; for what we
translate "terror" does not signify terror of mind
but some sudden
hasty
terrible distemper; perhaps the pestilence
as the Targum of Jonathan;
some have thought of the falling sickness
as Bishop Patrick
because the word
has the signification of haste and precipitance; and the second is a disease
well known among us
and so called from its wasting and consuming nature;
Jarchi interprets it of a disease which swells the flesh
either fills it with
tumours and pustules
the Septuagint calls it the itch; or with wind or water
which has led some to think of the dropsy; and the last of them seems to be
rightly rendered a burning ague or fever
though the Septuagint takes it for
the jaundice
but that seems not to be so threatening
terrible
and dangerous
as what may be here supposed: now these diseases and all others are by the
appointment of God
they come and go by his order
and while they continue have
the power over persons
nor can they rid themselves of them at pleasure; and
these have such an effect on persons seized by them
as to cause dimness of
sight
a hollowness of their eyes
which sink into the head
as well as fill
the heart with grief and sorrow; either through present pains and agonies
or
in a view of future judgment and wrath to come:
and ye shall sow your seed in vain
for your enemies shall eat it; either eat it
up for forage before it is ripe
or
if ripe and gathered in the barn
should
come and besiege their cities and plunder their granaries.
Leviticus 26:17. 17 I
will set My face against you
and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those
who hate you shall reign over you
and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
YLT 17and I have set My face against you
and ye
have been smitten before your enemies; and those hating you have ruled over
you
and ye have fled
and there is none pursuing you.
And I will set my face against you
.... Exert his power
and
stir up his wrath and indignation against them
as enemies of his
to cut them
off; see Psalm 34:16; which
is the reverse of having respect to them
Leviticus 26:9
and ye shall be slain before your enemies; as they were
sometimes by the Philistines and others:
and they that hate you shall reign over you; as did the
Chaldeans and Babylonians; see Psalm 106:41
and ye shall flee when none pursueth you; of such
pusillanimous spirits should they be
and filled with such dread and terror of
their enemies
so contrary from what is promised them on their obedience
Leviticus 26:8.
Leviticus 26:18. 18 ‘And
after all this
if you do not obey Me
then I will punish you seven times more
for your sins.
YLT 18`And if unto these ye hearken not to Me
--
then I have added to chastise you seven times for your sins;
And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me
.... If such
corrections by diseases of body
and by giving them up into the hands of their
enemies
should be ineffectual to reform them
and bring them to obedience to
the statutes and commandments of God
but should continue in their disobedience
to him
and rebellion against him:
then I will punish you seven times more for your sins; that is
abundantly more
with sorer punishments
and these more frequently repeated.
Leviticus 26:19. 19 I
will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your
earth like bronze.
YLT 19and I have broken the pride of your strength
and have made your heavens as iron
and your earth as brass;
And I will break the pride of your power
.... Which the
Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi interpret of the sanctuary
which they were proud
of
trusted in
and boasted of; but was broke or destroyed
first by
Nebuchadnezzar
then by the Romans: but it may rather signify their country
the glory of all lands for its fruitfulness
which for their sins should become
barren
as follows; or the multitude of their forces
and the strength of their
mighty men of war
in which they put their confidence; it may take in
everything
civil and ecclesiastical
they prided themselves with
and had
their dependence on
thinking themselves safe on account of them
but should be
broken to shivers
and be of no service to them:
and I will make your heaven as iron; so that neither dew nor
rain shall descend from thence to make the earth fruitful; but
on the
contrary
an heat should be reflected
which would parch it
and make it
barren:
and your earth as brass; that the seed could not
be cast into it
nor anything spring out of it
for the service of man and
beast
so that a famine must unavoidably follow.
Leviticus 26:20. 20 And
your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its
produce
nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
YLT 20and consumed hath been your strength in vain
and your land doth not give her produce
and the tree of the land doth not give
its fruit.
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:
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 Habakkuk 3:17; all
this is the reverse of Leviticus 26:4.
Leviticus 26:21. 21 ‘Then
if you walk
contrary to Me
and are not willing to obey Me
I will bring on you seven times
more plagues
according to your sins.
YLT 21`And if ye walk with Me [in] opposition
and
are not willing to hearken to Me
then I have added to you a plague seven
times
according to your sins
And if ye walk contrary unto me
.... To his mind and
will
to his laws
commands
and ordinances
showing no regard unto them by a
walk and conversation agreeably to them
but neglecting and breaking them
continually; or by chance
as the Targum of Jonathan
not with any intention
and design to obey the Lord
and to honour and glorify him
but in a careless
and indifferent manner
having no regard to the law of God
only now and then
as it happens
act according to it
but having no concern for the honour and
glory of God:
and will not hearken unto me; to his voice in his laws
and his precepts
or by his prophets
exhorting them to obedience to them:
I will bring seven times more plagues upon you
according to your
sins; greater and sorer punishments still
and these more frequently
repeated
and in proportion to their transgressions of his righteous laws.
Leviticus 26:22. 22 I
will also send wild beasts among you
which shall rob you of your children
destroy your livestock
and make you few in number; and your highways shall be
desolate.
YLT 22and sent against you the beast of the field
and it hath bereaved you; and I have cut off your cattle
and have made you
few
and your ways have been desolate.
I will also send wild beasts among you
.... Either in
a literal sense
as lions
bears
wolves
&c. and so is the reverse of what
is promised to them on their doing well
Leviticus 26:6; or
figuratively
mighty monarchs and cruel oppressors
such as were the kings of
Assyria and Babylon
Jeremiah 50:17
which shall rob you of your children; as the bears
in a literal sense
destroyed the children of them in the times of Elisha
2 Kings 2:24
and destroy your cattle; the tame beasts
who
often become a prey to the wild ones
as both those of the flock
and of the
herd
sheep and oxen
do to lions
wolves
&c.
and make you few in number; or diminish them
their
number
by bereaving them of their children
and their wealth and substance
by
destroying their cattle:
and your high ways shall be desolate; or ways
the
word high not being in the text
and may signify both their public and private
ones
which would be all forsaken
none caring to venture to walk in them for
fear of beasts of prey.
Leviticus 26:23. 23 ‘And
if by these things you are not reformed by Me
but walk contrary to Me
YLT 23`And if by these ye are not instructed by Me
and have walked with Me [in] opposition
And if ye will not be reformed by these things
.... Corrected
and amended by these punishments
be prevailed upon to return from their evil
ways to the Lord
and walk in his commandments
and keep his judgments
and do
them:
but will walk contrary unto me; See Gill on Leviticus 26:21.
Leviticus 26:24. 24 then
I also will walk contrary to you
and I will punish you yet seven times for
your sins.
YLT 24then I have walked -- I also -- with you in
opposition
and have smitten you
even I
seven times for your sins;
Then I will also walk contrary unto you
.... Opposing
himself unto them as their enemy
fighting against them in his providence
whetting his sword
bending his bow
and causing the arrows of his wrath and vengeance
to fall upon them; or behaving towards them in a careless and indifferent
manner
not regarding what befell them
showing no peculiar concern for them
or as exercising any particular providence over them; but as if everything came
by chance to them
which was the language of their actions
if not of their
lips:
and will punish you yet seven times for your sins; add fresh
corrections
and these greater than before
and more numerous in proportion to
their aggravated transgressions.
Leviticus 26:25. 25 And
I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the
covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence
among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
YLT 25and I have brought in on you a sword
executing the vengeance of a covenant; and ye have been gathered unto your
cities
and I have sent pestilence into your midst
and ye have been given into
the hand of an enemy.
And I will bring a sword upon you
.... War upon them by the
sword of their enemies; they that use and kill with the sword
as the Targums
of Onkelos and Jonathan; their neighbours that delighted in war
and bore an implacable
hatred unto them
and gladly embraced every opportunity of shedding their
blood
and ravaging their country:
that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant; the covenant
made with them at Sinai
which they transgressed
and for which vengeance would
be taken on them in this way
God so ordering it in his providence
though the
enemy meant it not
Isaiah 10:5
and when ye are gathered together within your cities; from the
fields and villages
fleeing from the enemy invading and destroying
to their
fortified towns and cities for safety:
I will send the pestilence among you; which shall
destroy those that escaped the sword
and thought themselves safe in a strong
city
and even the very soldiers in the garrisons
who were set for the defence
of the city:
and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy; so many being
taken off by the pestilence
there would not be a sufficient number to defend
the place
and therefore obliged to give it up
by which means those that
escaped the pestilence would fall into the hands of the enemy.
Leviticus 26:26. 26 When
I have cut off your supply of bread
ten women shall bake your bread in one
oven
and they shall bring back your bread by weight
and you shall eat and not
be satisfied.
YLT 26`In My breaking to you the staff of bread
then ten women have baked your bread in one oven
and have given back your
bread by weight; and ye have eaten
and are not satisfied.
And when I have broken the
staff of your bread
.... Brought a famine
at least a scarcity of provisions upon
them
deprived them of bread
the staff of life
by which it is supported; or
however made it very scarce among them
so that they had hardly a sufficiency
to sustain nature
and perhaps the blessing of nourishment withheld from that;
see Isaiah 3:1
ten women shall bake your bread in one oven; for want of
wood
according to Jarchi; or rather through scarcity of bread corn
they
should have so little to bake every week
that one oven would be sufficient for
ten families
which in a time of plenty each made use of one for themselves;
and so Aben Ezra says
it was a custom in Israel for every family to bake in an
oven by themselves
which they ate the whole week. Ten is a certain number for
an uncertain
and denotes many
as in Zechariah 8:23.
Making and baking bread was the work of women in the eastern countries
as we
find it was particularly among the PersiansF14Herodot. Polymnia
sive. l. 4. c. 187.
and continues to this day among the Moors and ArabsF15Shaw's
Travels
p. 241. Ed. 2. :
and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight; there being
not enough for everyone to eat what they pleased
but were obliged to a
rationed allowance
therefore everyone in the family should have their share
delivered to him by weight; see Ezekiel 4:16
and ye shall eat
and not be satisfied; not having
enough to eat to satisfaction; or what they did eat
God would withhold a
blessing from it for their nourishment
the reverse of Leviticus 26:5.
Leviticus 26:27. 27 ‘And
after all this
if you do not obey Me
but walk contrary to Me
YLT 27`And if for this ye hearken not to Me
and
have walked with Me in opposition
And if ye for all this will not hearken unto me
.... To his
commands
and to his prophets sent unto them time after time
and all his
corrections and chastisements being ineffectual to reform them
and make them
obedient to him:
but walk contrary unto me; See Gill on Leviticus 26:21.
Leviticus 26:28. 28 then
I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I
even I
will chastise you
seven times for your sins.
YLT 28then I have walked with you in the fury of
opposition
and have chastised you
even I
seven times for your sins.
Then I will walk contrary to you also in fury
.... As in Leviticus 26:24;
with this addition
in fury; being greatly provoked
and highly incensed
that
no regard was had to him
neither to his commands
nor to his corrections; and
therefore would be determined to stir up his wrath
and pour out the fury of
his indignation on them
which must be terrible:
and I
even I
will chastise you seven times for your sins; add new and
many more chastisements
and that in hot displeasure
for their sins; and the
repetition or doubling of the phrase
"I
even I
will do it"
denotes the certainty of it
and that he will do it himself
and his hand
should be visible in it; and they should feel the weight of it
and be obliged
to own that these were punishments inflicted by him for their sins.
Leviticus 26:29. 29 You
shall eat the flesh of your sons
and you shall eat the flesh of your
daughters.
YLT 29`And ye have eaten the flesh of your sons;
even flesh of your daughters ye do eat.
And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons
.... Which was
fulfilled at the siege of Samaria
in the times of Joram
2 Kings 6:29; and
at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar
Lamentations 4:10;
and though there is no instance of it at that time in the sacred records
the
JewsF16Torat Cohanim in Yalkut
par. 1. fol. 197. 1. tells us of one
Doeg ben Joseph
who died and left a little one with his mother
who was very
fond of him; but at this siege slew him with her own hands
and ate him
with
respect to which they suppose Jeremiah makes the lamentation
Lamentations 2:2;
and of this also there was an instance at the last siege of Jerusalem
by
Titus
when a woman
named Mary
of a considerable family
boiled her son
and
ate part of him
and the rest was found in her house when the seditious party
broke in upon her
as JosephusF17De Bello. Jud. l. 6. c. 3. sect. 4.
relates:
and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat; of which
though no instances are given
it is as reasonable to suppose it was done as
the former. Some of the Jewish writersF18Torat Cohanim
ib. think
that in this prediction is included
that children should eat their parents
as
well as parents their children
as in Ezekiel 5:10.
Leviticus 26:30. 30 I
will destroy your high places
cut down your incense altars
and cast your
carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.
YLT 30And I have destroyed your high places
and
cut down your images
and have put your carcases on the carcases of your idols
and My soul hath loathed you;
And I will destroy your high places
.... Which Jarchi
interprets of towers and palaces; but Aben Ezra of the place of sacrifices; for
on high places
hills and mountains
they used to build altars
and there offer
sacrifices
in imitation of the Heathens; See Gill on Ezekiel 6:13
and cut down your images; called Chammanim
either
from Ham
the son of Noah
the first introducer of idolatrous worship after the
flood
as some have thought; or from Jupiter Ammon
worshipped in Egypt
from
whence the Jews might have these images; or rather from Chammah
the sun
so
called from its heat; so Jarchi says
there were a sort of idols placed on the
roofs of houses
and because they were set in the sun
they were called by this
name; and KimchiF19Sepher Shorash. rad. חמם
& חמן. observes they were made of wood
and made
by the worshippers of the sun
see 2 Kings 23:11; but
Aben Ezra is of opinion that these were temples built for the worship of the
sun
which is the most early sort of idolatry that appeared in the world
to
which Job may be thought to refer
Job 31:26. Some
take these to be the πυραιθεια
or "fire hearths"
which StraboF20Geograph. l. 15. p. 504.
described as large enclosures
in the midst of which was an altar
where the
(Persian) Magi kept their fire that never went out
which was an emblem of the
sun they worshipped; and these
he says
were in the temples of Anaitis and
Omanus
and where the statue of the latter was in great pomp; which idol seems
to have its name from the word in the text; and these are fitly added to the
high places
because on such
as HerodotusF21Clio
sive
l. 1. c.
131. says
the Persians used to worship:
and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; or
"dunghill gods"F23גלוליכם
"stercoreorum deorum vestrorum"
Junius & Trernellius
Piscator
Drusius. ; such as the beetle
the Egyptians worshipped
signifying that they
and their idols should be destroyed together:
and my soul shall abhor you; the reverse of Leviticus 26:6; and
by comparing it with that
this may signify the removal of the divine Presence
from them
as a token of his abhorrence of them; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra
interpret it.
Leviticus 26:31. 31 I will lay your cities
waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation
and I will not smell the
fragrance of your sweet aromas.
YLT 31and I have made your cities a waste
and have
made desolate your sanctuaries
and I smell not at your sweet fragrances;
I will make your cities waste
.... By suffering the
enemy to besiege them
enter into them
and plunder them
and destroy the
houses in them
and reduce them to the most desolate condition
as Jerusalem
their metropolis
was more than once:
and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation; the temple
so called from the several apartments in it
the court
the holy place
and the
most holy; or rather both sanctuaries or temples are intended
the first built
by Solomon
and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; the second rebuilt by Zerubbabel
and adorned by Herod
and reduced to ashes by Titus Vespasian: the Jews
understand this of their synagogues
which were many both in Jerusalem
and in
other parts of their country
but cannot be intended
since it follows:
and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours: of their
incense offered on the altar of incense; or the savour of their offerings
as
the Targum of Jonathan
of their burnt offerings
and the fat of their other
offerings burnt on the altar of burnt offering; signifying
that these would
not be acceptable to him
or he smell a savour of rest in them; see Genesis 8:21; now
these were only offered in the temple
not in synagogues.
Leviticus 26:32. 32 I
will bring the land to desolation
and your enemies who dwell in it shall be
astonished at it.
YLT 32and I have made desolate the land
and your
enemies
who are dwelling in it
have been astonished at it.
And I will bring the land into desolation
.... The whole
country of Judea
cities
towns
villages
fields
vineyards
&c. through
the ravage and plunder of the enemy; and they being driven out of it
and
carried captive from it
and so the land left untilled
and become barren and
unfruitful:
and your enemies which dwell therein; having
destroyed them
or cast them out
and sent them into other countries
and took
possession of theirs in their room:
shall be astonished at it; at the desolation of the
land
that such a fruitful country
a land flowing with milk and honey
should
be turned into barrenness
for the wickedness of its inhabitants
and shall be
amazed at the judgments of God upon them and that.
Leviticus 26:33. 33 I
will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land
shall be desolate and your cities waste.
YLT 33And you I scatter among nations
and have
drawn out after you a sword
and your land hath been a desolation
and your
cities are a waste.
And I will scatter you among the Heathen
.... As with a
fan
Jeremiah 15:7; so
they were at the time of the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities
some were
carried to one place
and some to another
some fled to one place
and some to
another
and they are at this day scattered among the several nations of the
world:
and will draw out a sword after you; draw it out of its
scabbard
and with it pursue after them
when fleeing or going whither they
should not; as the remainder of the Jews in Judea sought to go to Egypt
contrary to the will of God
Jeremiah 42:16; see
Leviticus 26:25
and your land shall be desolate
and your cities waste; for want of
men to till the one
and inhabit the other.
Leviticus 26:34. 34 Then
the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are
in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
YLT 34`Then doth the land enjoy its sabbaths -- all
the days of the desolation
and ye in the land of your enemies -- then doth the
land rest
and hath enjoyed its sabbaths;
Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths
.... The sabbatical
years
or seventh year sabbaths
when
according to the law in the preceding
chapter
it was to rest from tillage
Leviticus 25:2
as long as it lieth desolate
and ye be in your enemies'
land; so long it should lie uncultivated
at least in part
there not
being a sufficient number left to till it in general
or as it should be; this
was the case during the seventy years' captivity in Babylon:
even then shall the
land rest
and enjoy her sabbaths; or complete them
as
Aben Ezra
which is a bitter sarcasm upon them for their neglect of observance
of the law concerning the sabbatical years; but now the land should have its
sabbaths of rest whether they would or not; and it seems as if it was on
account of this sin
as well as others
that they were carried captive; and it
is remarkable
if what MaimonidesF24Hilchot Shemitah Vejobel
c. 10.
sect. 3. says is right
that it was at the going out or end of a sabbatical
year
that the first temple was destroyed
and the Jews carried captive
and
endured a seventy years' captivity; which some say was because they had
neglected seventy sabbatical years; see 2 Chronicles 36:21.
Leviticus 26:35. 35 As
long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on
your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.
YLT 35all the days of the desolation it resteth
that which it hath not rested in your sabbaths in your dwelling on it.
As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest
.... From
tillage
neither man nor beast working upon it; for which reason such a space
of time was called a sabbath:
because it did not rest in your sabbaths
when you dwelt upon it; they manured
and tilled it on the seventh years
as on others
neglecting the command which
God had given them; and this they did not once or twice
but many times
while
they were dwellers in the land; which seems to confirm pretty much the notion
of their having omitted so many years
though that cannot be affirmed with
certainty; see Jarchi on the place.
Leviticus 26:36. 36 ‘And
as for those of you who are left
I will send faintness into their hearts in
the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to
flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword
and they shall fall when
no one pursues.
YLT 36`And those who are left of you -- I have also
brought a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies
and the
sound of a leaf driven away hath pursued them
and they have fled -- flight
from a sword -- and they have fallen
and there is none pursuing.
And upon them that are left alive of you
.... In the
land of Judea
or rather scattered about among the nations
suggesting that
these would be comparatively few:
I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their
enemies; or "a softness"F25מרך
"mollitiem"
Montanus
Vatablus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius. ; so that they should be effeminate
pusillanimous
and cowardly
have
nothing of a manly spirit and courage in them; but be mean spirited and faint
hearted
as the Jews are noted to be at this day
as Bishop Patrick observes;
who also adds
"it being scarce ever heard
that a Jew listed himself for a
soldier
or engaged in the defence of his country where he lives:"
and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; either the
sound of a leaf that falls from the tree
as the Targum of Jonathan
or which
the wind beats one against another
as Jarchi
which makes some little noise;
even this should terrify them
taking it to be the noise of some enemy near at
hand
just ready to fall on them; such poor faint hearted creatures should they
be:
and they shall flee as fleeing from the sword; as if there
were an army of soldiers with their swords drawn pursuing them:
and they shall fall when none pursueth; fall upon the
ground
and into a fit
and drop down as if dead
as if they had been really
wounded with a sword and slain
see Proverbs 28:1.
Leviticus 26:37. 37 They
shall stumble over one another
as it were before a sword
when no one pursues;
and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
YLT 37And they have stumbled one on another
as
from the face of a sword
and there is none pursuing
and ye have no standing
before your enemies
And they shall fall one upon another
.... In their
hurry and confusion
everyone making all the haste he can to escape the
imaginary danger; or "a man upon his brother"F26איש באחיו "vir in fratrem
suum"
Vatablus
Drusius
Piscator. ; his friend
as Aben Ezra interprets
it
having no regard to relation and friendship
every one endeavouring to save
himself. There is another sense which some Jewish writersF1Torat
Cohanim apud Yalkut
par. 1. fol. 197. 2. give of this phrase
and is observed
by Jarchi
which is
that everyone shall fall for the iniquities of his
brother; for all the Israelites say
they are sureties for one another; but the
former sense is best:
as it were before a sword
when none pursueth: as if a sword
was drawn and brandished at them
just ready to be thrust in them
filling them
with the utmost dread and terror
and yet at the same time none in pursuit of
them:
and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies; no heart to
resist them
no strength nor spirit to oppose them
and defend themselves but
be obliged to surrender their cities
themselves
their families and goods
into the hand of the enemy.
Leviticus 26:38. 38 You
shall perish among the nations
and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
YLT 38and ye have perished among the nations
and
the land of your enemies hath consumed you.
And ye shall perish among the Heathen
.... Not
utterly
but great numbers of them
through change of air
and different diet
as Aben Ezra
and through the cruel usage of their enemies; for there is a body
of them which continues unto this day; unless this is to be understood of the
ten tribes
as R. AkibaF2In Torat Cohanim
ut supra. (par. 1. fol.
197. 2.) interprets it
who are supposed to be entirely lost and swallowed up
among the nations where they were carried captive:
and the land of your enemies shall eat you up; they should
die in it through one disease or another; by the pestilence
as the Targum of
Jonathan
and so be buried in it; in which sense it may be said to eat them up
or consume them
for the grave swallows up and consumes all that are put into
it; Jarchi says
this is to be understood of those that die in captivity.
Leviticus 26:39. 39 And
those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’
lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities
which are with them
they shall waste
away.
YLT 39`And those who are left of you -- they
consume away in their iniquity
in the lands of your enemies; and also in the
iniquities of their fathers
with them they consume away.
And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in
your enemies' lands
.... Such as were not taken off by any public calamity
as the
sword or pestilence should gradually diminish and melt away like wax before the
fire
and die in and for their iniquities in an enemy's country
see Ezekiel 24:23
and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away
with them; or for the iniquities of their evil fathers
as the Targums of
Onkelos and Jonathan; they treading in their steps
and doing the same evil
deeds
whereby they filled up the measure of their fathers' sins
and brought
upon them deserved punishment. Matthew 23:32.
Leviticus 26:40. 40 ‘But
if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers
with their
unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me
and that they also have
walked contrary to Me
YLT 40`And -- they have confessed their iniquity
and the iniquity of their fathers
in their trespass which they have trespassed
against Me
and also
that they have walked with Me
in opposition
If they shall confess their iniquity
and the iniquity of their
fathers
.... The Targum of Jonathan adds
"in the time of their
distress;'which might serve to bring their sins to remembrance
and them to a
confession of them
not only of their own sins
but of their fathers' also;
acknowledging thereby that they had been guilty of sinning against God for a
long course of years past; and that God had been long suffering towards them
and bore much with them before he brought his judgments on them
which were
just
and what they righteously deserved; and such a confession Daniel made
Daniel 9:4; and the
words may as well be rendered absolute as conditional
or better
and as a
prediction of what would be done by them when in captivity and distress
"and they shall confess their iniquity"F3והתודו "et confitebuntur"
Pagninus
Montanus. ;
with shame and sorrow
with repentance for it
and abhorrence of it; or
otherwise
if the confession was only verbal and hypocritical
it would not be
acceptable:
with their trespass which they trespassed against me; along with
their own iniquities
and those of their fathers
they should confess
their
trespass against the Lord would be acknowledged by them; which seems to design
some particular and grievous sin committed by them
by which perhaps is meant their
idolatry
a capital sin
directly against God
and what those people were prone
unto:
and that also they have walked contrary unto me; to his mind
and will
to his laws
commands
statutes
and ordinances
disregarding him and
them
as if enemies to him; or "by chance"; See Gill on Leviticus 26:21.
Leviticus 26:41. 41 and that I also
have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their
enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled
and they accept their
guilt—
YLT 41also I walk to them in opposition
and have
brought them into the land of their enemies -- or then their uncircumcised
heart is humbled
and then they accept the punishment of their iniquity
--
And that I also have walked contrary unto them
.... Showed no
regard unto them
as if he took no care of them
or in a providential way
concerned himself for them
but let what would befall them; yea
came out in
the way of his judgments against them
as if he was an enemy to them; see Gill
on Leviticus 26:24
and have brought them into the land of their enemies; should
acknowledge the hand of God in it
that he himself brought them out of their
own country into an enemy's land
as Assyria
Babylon
and other nations: and
that this was not the chance of war
or owing to the superior power or skill of
their enemies
but to the just judgment of God upon them for their sins
who on
that account delivered them up into the hands of their enemies:
if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled; their foolish
proud heart
as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; it signifies a sinful
wicked
hard
and impenitent heart
brought to a sense of sin
to repentance
and humiliation for it. Jarchi interprets it
"or if their uncircumcised
heart"
&c. as in Exodus 2:23; and
observes another sense of the word
"perhaps their uncircumcised
heart"
&c. not only would in words confess their sins
but be truly
humbled at heart for them:
and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity; take it well
at the hand of God
bear it patiently without murmuring
or thinking themselves
hardly dealt by
but freely owning it is less than their iniquities deserve; or
complete and finish the punishment of their sins
as Aben Ezra
which upon
their humiliation should be put an end to
and cease. Jarchi takes the word in
the sense of atonement and pacification
as if by their chastisement their sins
were expiatedF4Siphri apud Yalkut
ut supra. (par. 1. fol. 197. 2.)
and God was pacified toward them: but rather it denotes the free and full
pardon of their sins
manifested to them upon their repentance and humiliation
for sin.
Leviticus 26:42. 42 then
I will remember My covenant with Jacob
and My covenant with Isaac and My
covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.
YLT 42then I have remembered My covenant [with]
Jacob
and also My covenant [with] Isaac
and also My covenant [with] Abraham I
remember
and the land I remember.
Then i will also remember my covenant with Jacob
.... Would
fulfil and make good all that he had promised in covenant with Jacob
and his
posterity: the account begins with him
and rises upwards to Abraham
whereas
it usually begins with Abraham
and descends to Jacob; no sufficient reason is
given for this alteration
though several are attempted by the Jewish writersF5Saadiah
Gaon apud Aben Ezram in loc. Pesikta & alii. :
and also my covenant with Isaac
and also my covenant with Abraham
will I remember; which chiefly respects the multiplication of their seed
the
continuance of them
and the Messiah springing from them; which is the mercy
promised to these fathers
and the principal part of the covenant made with
them
and which was remembered and performed when God visited and redeemed his
people by him
Luke 1:68
and I will remember the land; the land of Judea
and
return the Jews to it
and make it fruitful
after he had given it rest from
tillage for many years
which was fulfilled at their return from the captivity
of Babylon.
Leviticus 26:43. 43 The
land also shall be left empty by them
and will enjoy its sabbaths while it
lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt
because they despised
My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes.
YLT 43`And -- the land is left of them
and doth
enjoy its sabbaths
in the desolation without them
and they accept the
punishment of their iniquity
because
even because
against My judgments they
have kicked
and My statutes hath their soul loathed
The land also shall be left of them
.... This seems to refer
to a second time
when this should be the case of the land of Judea again
as
it was when subdued by the Romans
and the Jews were carried captive from it
and so it was left by them
as it has been ever since:
and shall enjoy her sabbaths
while lieth desolate without them; shall be as
in the sabbatical years
uncultivated
neither ploughed nor sown
nor reaped;
and thus the land of Canaan
though once so very fruitful
is now desolate and
barren
being without its former inhabitants
and so it is like to be until it
is restored to them again:
and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; that is
when
made sensible of their sins
and particularly of their iniquity of rejecting
the Messiah; they will not think it hard that they have been punished in so
severe a manner
but own the righteous hand of God in it
and be humble under
it; and confessing their sins with true sorrow and repentance for them
looking
at him whom they have pierced
and mourn
shall have the free and full
remission of their sins applied unto them:
because
even
because they despised my judgments
and because
their soul abhorred my statutes; despised and abhorred Christ
his doctrines
and ordinances
which was the reason of their being carried captive out of
their land
when it was forsaken by them
and lay desolate as to this day
especially with respect to any benefit of it enjoyed by them; and which
when
they are sensible of
will be a reason of their accepting the punishment of
their iniquity so readily
and not murmur at the hand of God upon them
or
reflect on his dealings with them
but freely and fully confess their sins
that he may be justified in all that he has done.
Leviticus 26:44. 44 Yet
for all that
when they are in the land of their enemies
I will not cast them
away
nor shall I abhor them
to utterly destroy them and break My covenant
with them; for I am the Lord their God.
YLT 44and also even this
in their being in the
land of their enemies
I have not rejected them
nor have I loathed them
to
consume them
to break My covenant with them; for I [am] Jehovah their God; --
And yet for all that
.... I will have on them
in or through my Word
as the Targum of Jonathan; notwithstanding their many
and great sins and transgressions
and the sad and miserable condition they
were brought into by them
the Lord would have mercy on them and be gracious to
them
through Christ and for his sake
and convert and save them
see Romans 11:26; the
Jews
as Fagius tells us
wonderfully delight themselves with this passage
and
read it with the greatest joy and pleasure
and with an elevated voice;
concluding from hence that they shall certainly return to their own land; and
because the first word in this verse is in sound the same as the Germans use
for an "ape"
they call this paragraph "the golden ape"
and say
when this shall be fulfilled the golden age will take place with them:
a very learned manF6Carpzovius de aurea Judaeorum Simia
in Thesaur.
Theolog. Philolog. vol. 1. p. 344. vid. Pfeiffer. dubia vexata cent. 2. loc.
17. p. 145. has wrote a dissertation upon it: when
they shall be in the land of their enemies; of the Romans
and other nations
among whom they have been disposed ever since the
destruction of Jerusalem by Titus:
I will not cast them away
neither will I abhor them
to destroy
them utterly; for though they have been cast away by the Lord out of their
land
and from being his people
and enjoying either the civil or religious privileges
they formerly did; and though they have been cast off with abhorrence
and had
in great detestation by him
for their sin of rejecting the Messiah
as appears
by the punishment inflicted on them; yet not so as to make an utter end of them
as a body of people
for
notwithstanding their dispersion everywhere
and
their long captivity
they remain a distinct people from all others
which
seems to forebode something favourable to them:
and to break my covenant with them; which he will not do
even his promise of the future call and conversion of them
and of their return
to their own land:
for I am the Lord their God; their covenant God
and
a covenant keeping God
Romans 11:27.
Leviticus 26:45. 45 But
for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors
whom I brought
out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations
that I might be their
God: I am the Lord.’”
YLT 45then I have remembered for them the covenant
of the ancestors
whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt before the eyes
of the nations to become their God; I [am] Jehovah.'
But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their
ancestors
.... Or rather
"remember to them"F7וזכרתי להם "et recordabor
eis"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius; "erga eos"
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator.
to their good and benefit
for their profit and
advantage
not for their desert and merit
for any worth or worthiness in them;
this covenant respects not the covenant made with Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob
as
in Leviticus 26:42;
but with their fathers
either at Sinai
or rather in the plains of Moab
Deuteronomy 29:1
for it follows:
whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the
Heathen
that I might be their God; whom he brought out of
great bondage and distress in Egypt
with an high hand and outstretched arm
and in the sight of the Egyptians
who were not able to oppose it
yea
because
of their plagues
were urgent for it; and in the sight of all the nations round
about
who heard of the wonderful power of God in the deliverance of his
people; and this he did that he might appear to be their covenant God
who had
taken them into covenant with him
and had taken them under his care and
protection
and would be still their King and their God; and who also
in like
manner
it may be here suggested
would deliver the people of the Jews out of
their present exiled and captive state and condition in the sight of the whole
world
and declare himself their covenant God and Father:
I am the Lord; whose will is sovereign
whose power is uncontrollable
who is a covenant keeping God
faithful to his
promises
and able to perform them.
Leviticus 26:46.
46 These are the
statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and
the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
YLT 46These [are] the statutes
and the judgments
and the laws
which Jehovah hath given between Him and the sons of Israel
in
mount Sinai
by the hand of Moses.
These are the statutes
and judgments
and laws
.... Which
refer not only to those in this chapter
but in all the preceding chapters in
this book
and respect them all
whether ceremonial
moral
or judicial
which
may be signified by these three words:
which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel; the Targums
of Onkelos and Jonathan are
"between his Word and the children of
Israel:"
in Mount Sinai; or near it
in the wilderness of it
while
the children of Israel lay encamped about it:
by the hand of Moses; they were first
delivered to him
and by means of him to the people.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》