1
לֹא-תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם אֱלִילִם, וּפֶסֶל וּמַצֵּבָה לֹא-תָקִימוּ לָכֶם, וְאֶבֶן מַשְׂכִּית לֹא תִתְּנוּ בְּאַרְצְכֶם, לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת עָלֶיהָ: כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
You shall not make idols for yourselves, nor set up a carved image or a sacred pillar for yourselves, nor place a carved stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am Jehovah your God.
noteNo os haréis ídolos, ni os levantaréis imagen tallada ni piedra sagrada, ni pondréis en vuestra tierra piedra grabada para postraros ante ella: porque yo soy Jehová vuestro Dios.
2
אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ, וּמִקְדָּשִׁי תִּירָאוּ: אֲנִי, יְהוָה. {פ}
You shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.
{פ}noteGuardaréis mis sábados, y reverenciaréis mi santuario: yo soy Jehová.
3
אִם-בְּחֻקֹּתַי, תֵּלֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִצְוֺתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם.
If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them,
noteSi anduáis en mis estatutos, y guardáis mis mandamientos, y los ponéis por obra,
4
וְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם, בְּעִתָּם; וְנָתְנָה הָאָרֶץ יְבוּלָהּ, וְעֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ.
then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
noteyo daré vuestras lluvias en su tiempo, y la tierra dará su producto, y el árbol del campo dará su fruto.
5
וְהִשִּׂיג לָכֶם דַּיִשׁ אֶת-בָּצִיר, וּבָצִיר יַשִּׂיג אֶת-זָרַע; וַאֲכַלְתֶּם לַחְמְכֶם לָשֹׂבַע, וִישַׁבְתֶּם לָבֶטַח בְּאַרְצְכֶם.
And your threshing shall last until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last until the sowing; and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land in safety.
noteY vuestra trilla alcanzará hasta la vendimia, y la vendimia alcanzará hasta la siembra; y comeréis vuestro pan hasta saciaros, y habitaréis en vuestra tierra con seguridad.
6
וְנָתַתִּי שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ, וּשְׁכַבְתֶּם וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד; וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי חַיָּה רָעָה, מִן-הָאָרֶץ, וְחֶרֶב, לֹא-תַעֲבֹר בְּאַרְצְכֶם.
And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will remove harmful animals from the land, and the sword shall not pass through your land.
noteY daré paz en la tierra, y os acostaréis sin que nadie os espante; y haré que cesen las bestias fieras de la tierra, y la espada no pasará por vuestra tierra.
7
וּרְדַפְתֶּם, אֶת-אֹיְבֵיכֶם; וְנָפְלוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם, לֶחָרֶב.
And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
noteY perseguiréis a vuestros enemigos, y caerán a espada delante de vosotros.
8
וְרָדְפוּ מִכֶּם חֲמִשָּׁה מֵאָה, וּמֵאָה מִכֶּם רְבָבָה יִרְדֹּפוּ; וְנָפְלוּ אֹיְבֵיכֶם לִפְנֵיכֶם, לֶחָרֶב.
And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
noteY cinco de vosotros perseguirán a cien, y cien de vosotros perseguirán a diez mil; y vuestros enemigos caerán a espada delante de vosotros.
9
וּפָנִיתִי אֲלֵיכֶם--וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם, וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶתְכֶם; וַהֲקִימֹתִי אֶת-בְּרִיתִי, אִתְּכֶם.
And I will turn toward you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you; and I will establish my covenant with you.
noteY me volveré a vosotros, y os haré fructificar, y os multiplicaré; y confirmaré mi pacto con vosotros.
10
וַאֲכַלְתֶּם יָשָׁן, נוֹשָׁן; וְיָשָׁן, מִפְּנֵי חָדָשׁ תּוֹצִיאוּ.
And you shall eat what is old, long stored, and clear out the old to make room for the new.
noteY comeréis lo añejo, guardado por mucho tiempo, y sacaréis lo añejo para dar lugar a lo nuevo.
11
וְנָתַתִּי מִשְׁכָּנִי, בְּתוֹכְכֶם; וְלֹא-תִגְעַל נַפְשִׁי, אֶתְכֶם.
And I will set my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.
noteY pondré mi morada en medio de vosotros, y mi alma no os abominará.
12
וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי, בְּתוֹכְכֶם, וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם, לֵאלֹהִים; וְאַתֶּם, תִּהְיוּ-לִי לְעָם.
And I will walk among you, and be your God, and you shall be my people.
noteY andaré en medio de vosotros, y seré vuestro Dios, y vosotros seréis mi pueblo.
13
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, מִהְיֹת לָהֶם, עֲבָדִים; וָאֶשְׁבֹּר מֹטֹת עֻלְּכֶם, וָאוֹלֵךְ אֶתְכֶם קוֹמְמִיּוּת. {פ}
I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke, and made you walk
upright.
{פ}noteYo soy Jehová vuestro Dios, que os saqué de la tierra de Egipto, para que no fuerais sus siervos; y rompí las coyundas de vuestro yugo, y os hice caminar
erguidos.
14
וְאִם-לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, לִי; וְלֹא תַעֲשׂוּ, אֵת כָּל-הַמִּצְוֺת הָאֵלֶּה.
But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments,
notePero si no me escucháis, ni ponéis por obra todos estos mandamientos,
15
וְאִם-בְּחֻקֹּתַי תִּמְאָסוּ, וְאִם אֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי תִּגְעַל נַפְשְׁכֶם, לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת אֶת-כָּל-מִצְוֺתַי, לְהַפְרְכֶם אֶת-בְּרִיתִי.
and if you spurn my statutes, or if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you do not do all my commandments, but break my covenant —
notey si desecháis mis estatutos, o vuestra alma abomina mis ordenanzas, de modo que no pongáis por obra todos mis mandamientos, sino que quebrantéis mi pacto —
16
אַף-אֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה-זֹּאת לָכֶם, וְהִפְקַדְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם בֶּהָלָה אֶת-הַשַּׁחֶפֶת וְאֶת-הַקַּדַּחַת, מְכַלּוֹת עֵינַיִם, וּמְדִיבֹת נָפֶשׁ; וּזְרַעְתֶּם לָרִיק זַרְעֲכֶם, וַאֲכָלֻהוּ אֹיְבֵיכֶם.
I in turn will do this to you: I will appoint over you sudden terror, wasting disease and fever, that consume the eyes and cause the soul to languish; and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
noteyo también haré esto con vosotros: enviaré sobre vosotros terror repentino, consunción y fiebre, que consuman los ojos y atormenten el alma; y sembraréis en vano vuestra semilla, porque vuestros enemigos la comerán.
17
וְנָתַתִּי פָנַי בָּכֶם, וְנִגַּפְתֶּם לִפְנֵי אֹיְבֵיכֶם; וְרָדוּ בָכֶם שֹׂנְאֵיכֶם, וְנַסְתֶּם וְאֵין-רֹדֵף אֶתְכֶם.
And 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.
noteY pondré mi rostro contra vosotros, y seréis heridos delante de vuestros enemigos; los que os aborrecen se enseñorearán de vosotros, y huiréis sin que nadie os persiga.
18
וְאִם-עַד-אֵלֶּה--לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, לִי: וְיָסַפְתִּי לְיַסְּרָה אֶתְכֶם, שֶׁבַע עַל-חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם.
And if in spite of these things you will not listen to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
noteY si aún con estas cosas no me escucháis, añadiré siete veces más castigo sobre vosotros por vuestros pecados.
19
וְשָׁבַרְתִּי, אֶת-גְּאוֹן עֻזְּכֶם; וְנָתַתִּי אֶת-שְׁמֵיכֶם כַּבַּרְזֶל, וְאֶת-אַרְצְכֶם כַּנְּחֻשָׁה.
And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your sky like iron, and your land like bronze.
noteY quebrantaré la soberbia de vuestro poder, y haré vuestro cielo como hierro, y vuestra tierra como bronce.
20
וְתַם לָרִיק, כֹּחֲכֶם; וְלֹא-תִתֵּן אַרְצְכֶם, אֶת-יְבוּלָהּ, וְעֵץ הָאָרֶץ, לֹא יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ.
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.
noteY vuestra fuerza se consumirá en vano, porque vuestra tierra no dará su producto, ni el árbol de la tierra dará su fruto.
21
וְאִם-תֵּלְכוּ עִמִּי קֶרִי, וְלֹא תֹאבוּ לִשְׁמֹעַ לִי--וְיָסַפְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַכָּה, שֶׁבַע כְּחַטֹּאתֵיכֶם.
And if you
walk contrary to me, and will not listen to me, I will bring on you plagues seven times more, according to your sins.
note
22
וְהִשְׁלַחְתִּי בָכֶם אֶת-חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה, וְשִׁכְּלָה אֶתְכֶם, וְהִכְרִיתָה אֶת-בְּהֶמְתְּכֶם, וְהִמְעִיטָה אֶתְכֶם; וְנָשַׁמּוּ, דַּרְכֵיכֶם.
And I will send the wild animals of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your roads shall be deserted.
noteY enviaré contra vosotros las bestias fieras del campo, que os privarán de vuestros hijos, destruirán vuestro ganado, y os reducirán en número; y vuestros caminos quedarán desiertos.
23
וְאִם-בְּאֵלֶּה--לֹא תִוָּסְרוּ, לִי; וַהֲלַכְתֶּם עִמִּי, קֶרִי.
24
וְהָלַכְתִּי אַף-אֲנִי עִמָּכֶם, בְּקֶרִי; וְהִכֵּיתִי אֶתְכֶם גַּם-אָנִי, שֶׁבַע עַל-חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם.
then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you seven times for your sins.
noteyo también andaré con vosotros en oposición, y os heriré yo mismo siete veces por vuestros pecados.
25
וְהֵבֵאתִי עֲלֵיכֶם חֶרֶב, נֹקֶמֶת נְקַם-בְּרִית, וְנֶאֱסַפְתֶּם, אֶל-עָרֵיכֶם; וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי דֶבֶר בְּתוֹכְכֶם, וְנִתַּתֶּם בְּיַד-אוֹיֵב.
And I will bring on you a sword that avenges the vengeance of the covenant; and when you gather within your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy.
noteY traeré sobre vosotros espada vengadora, en venganza del pacto; y cuando os reunáis en vuestras ciudades, enviaré pestilencia entre vosotros, y seréis entregados en mano del enemigo.
26
בְּשִׁבְרִי לָכֶם, מַטֵּה-לֶחֶם, וְאָפוּ עֶשֶׂר נָשִׁים לַחְמְכֶם בְּתַנּוּר אֶחָד, וְהֵשִׁיבוּ לַחְמְכֶם בַּמִּשְׁקָל; וַאֲכַלְתֶּם, וְלֹא תִשְׂבָּעוּ. {ס}
When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall dole out your bread again by weight; and you shall eat, and not be satisfied.
{ס}noteCuando yo os quebrante el sustento del pan, diez mujeres cocerán vuestro pan en un solo horno, y os devolverán vuestro pan por peso; y comeréis, y no os saciaréis.
27
וְאִם-בְּזֹאת--לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, לִי; וַהֲלַכְתֶּם עִמִּי, בְּקֶרִי.
28
וְהָלַכְתִּי עִמָּכֶם, בַּחֲמַת-קֶרִי; וְיִסַּרְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אַף-אָנִי, שֶׁבַע עַל-חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם.
then I will walk contrary to you in fury; and I myself will chastise you seven times for your sins.
noteyo andaré con vosotros con furiosa oposición, y os castigaré yo mismo siete veces por vuestros pecados.
29
וַאֲכַלְתֶּם, בְּשַׂר בְּנֵיכֶם; וּבְשַׂר בְּנֹתֵיכֶם, תֹּאכֵלוּ.
And you shall eat the flesh of your sons; and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.
noteY comeréis la carne de vuestros hijos; y la carne de vuestras hijas comeréis.
30
וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּי אֶת-בָּמֹתֵיכֶם, וְהִכְרַתִּי אֶת-חַמָּנֵיכֶם, וְנָתַתִּי אֶת-פִּגְרֵיכֶם, עַל-פִּגְרֵי גִּלּוּלֵיכֶם; וְגָעֲלָה נַפְשִׁי, אֶתְכֶם.
And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies on the dead bodies of your idols; and my soul shall abhor you.
noteY destruiré vuestros lugares altos, y derribaré vuestros altares de incienso, y pondré vuestros cadáveres sobre los cadáveres de vuestros ídolos; y mi alma os abominará.
31
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת-עָרֵיכֶם חָרְבָּה, וַהֲשִׁמּוֹתִי אֶת-מִקְדְּשֵׁיכֶם; וְלֹא אָרִיחַ, בְּרֵיחַ נִיחֹחֲכֶם.
And I will lay your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation; and I will not smell the fragrance of your pleasing aromas.
noteY convertiré vuestras ciudades en desierto, y asolaré vuestros santuarios; y no oleré la fragancia de vuestro suave olor.
32
וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִי אֲנִי, אֶת-הָאָרֶץ; וְשָׁמְמוּ עָלֶיהָ אֹיְבֵיכֶם, הַיֹּשְׁבִים בָּהּ.
And I myself will bring the land to desolation; and your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it.
noteYo mismo asolaré la tierra; y vuestros enemigos que en ella habiten se asombrarán de ella.
33
וְאֶתְכֶם אֱזָרֶה בַגּוֹיִם, וַהֲרִיקֹתִי אַחֲרֵיכֶם חָרֶב; וְהָיְתָה אַרְצְכֶם שְׁמָמָה, וְעָרֵיכֶם יִהְיוּ חָרְבָּה.
And I will scatter you among the nations, and will draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities a waste.
noteY a vosotros os esparciré entre las naciones, y desenvainaré espada en pos de vosotros; y vuestra tierra estará asolada, y vuestras ciudades quedarán desiertas.
34
אָז תִּרְצֶה הָאָרֶץ אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתֶיהָ, כֹּל יְמֵי הָשַּׁמָּה, וְאַתֶּם, בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיכֶם; אָז תִּשְׁבַּת הָאָרֶץ, וְהִרְצָת אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתֶיהָ.
Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its sabbaths.
noteEntonces la tierra gozará de sus sábados todo el tiempo que esté desolada, mientras vosotros estéis en la tierra de vuestros enemigos; entonces la tierra descansará, y gozará de sus sábados.
35
כָּל-יְמֵי הָשַּׁמָּה, תִּשְׁבֹּת, אֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא-שָׁבְתָה בְּשַׁבְּתֹתֵיכֶם, בְּשִׁבְתְּכֶם עָלֶיהָ.
As long as it lies desolate, it shall have the rest it did not have during your sabbaths, when you dwelt in it.
noteTodo el tiempo que esté desolada, descansará lo que no descansó en vuestros sábados, mientras habitabais en ella.
36
וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים בָּכֶם--וְהֵבֵאתִי מֹרֶךְ בִּלְבָבָם, בְּאַרְצֹת אֹיְבֵיהֶם; וְרָדַף אֹתָם, קוֹל עָלֶה נִדָּף, וְנָסוּ מְנֻסַת-חֶרֶב וְנָפְלוּ, וְאֵין רֹדֵף.
And on those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts 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 fall when no one pursues.
noteY a los que queden de vosotros infundiré en su corazón tal cobardía, en las tierras de sus enemigos, que el sonido de una hoja arrastrada por el viento los perseguirá, y huirán como quien huye de la espada, y caerán sin que nadie los persiga.
37
וְכָשְׁלוּ אִישׁ-בְּאָחִיו כְּמִפְּנֵי-חֶרֶב, וְרֹדֵף אָיִן; וְלֹא-תִהְיֶה לָכֶם תְּקוּמָה, לִפְנֵי אֹיְבֵיכֶם.
And they shall stumble over one another, as if before the sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
noteY tropezarán los unos con los otros como delante de espada, sin que nadie los persiga; y no podréis manteneros en pie delante de vuestros enemigos.
38
וַאֲבַדְתֶּם, בַּגּוֹיִם; וְאָכְלָה אֶתְכֶם, אֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיכֶם.
And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall consume you.
noteY pereceréis entre las naciones, y la tierra de vuestros enemigos os consumirá.
39
וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים בָּכֶם, יִמַּקּוּ בַּעֲוֺנָם, בְּאַרְצֹת, אֹיְבֵיכֶם; וְאַף בַּעֲוֺנֹת אֲבֹתָם, אִתָּם יִמָּקּוּ.
And those of you who are left shall rot away in their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away with them.
noteY los que queden de vosotros se consumirán en su iniquidad en las tierras de vuestros enemigos; y también en las iniquidades de sus padres se consumirán con ellos.
40
וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת-עֲוֺנָם וְאֶת-עֲוֺן אֲבֹתָם, בְּמַעֲלָם אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ-בִי, וְאַף, אֲשֶׁר-הָלְכוּ עִמִּי בְּקֶרִי.
But if they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against me, and also that they
walked contrary to me —
note
41
אַף-אֲנִי, אֵלֵךְ עִמָּם בְּקֶרִי, וְהֵבֵאתִי אֹתָם, בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם; אוֹ-אָז יִכָּנַע, לְבָבָם הֶעָרֵל, וְאָז, יִרְצוּ אֶת-עֲוֺנָם.
I also walking contrary to them, and bringing them into the land of their enemies — if then their
uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they accept the punishment of their iniquity,
noteyo también andando con ellos en oposición, y habiéndolos hecho entrar en la tierra de sus enemigos —si entonces se humilla su corazón incircunciso, y aceptan el castigo de su iniquidad,
42
וְזָכַרְתִּי, אֶת-בְּרִיתִי יַעֲקוֹב; וְאַף אֶת-בְּרִיתִי יִצְחָק וְאַף אֶת-בְּרִיתִי אַבְרָהָם, אֶזְכֹּר--וְהָאָרֶץ אֶזְכֹּר.
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.
noteentonces me acordaré de mi pacto con Jacob; y también de mi pacto con Isaac, y también de mi pacto con Abraham me acordaré; y me acordaré de la tierra.
43
וְהָאָרֶץ תֵּעָזֵב מֵהֶם וְתִרֶץ אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתֶיהָ, בָּהְשַׁמָּה מֵהֶם, וְהֵם, יִרְצוּ אֶת-עֲוֺנָם; יַעַן וּבְיַעַן--בְּמִשְׁפָּטַי מָאָסוּ, וְאֶת-חֻקֹּתַי גָּעֲלָה נַפְשָׁם.
The land also 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 they spurned my ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes.
noteTambién la tierra será abandonada por ellos, y gozará de sus sábados mientras esté desolada sin ellos; y ellos aceptarán el castigo de su iniquidad, porque desecharon mis ordenanzas, y su alma abominó mis estatutos.
44
וְאַף-גַּם-זֹאת בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם, לֹא-מְאַסְתִּים וְלֹא-גְעַלְתִּים לְכַלֹּתָם--לְהָפֵר בְּרִיתִי, אִתָּם: כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיהֶם.
And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, nor will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, breaking my covenant with them: for I am Jehovah their God.
noteY aun con todo esto, cuando estén en la tierra de sus enemigos, no los desecharé, ni los abominaré hasta consumirlos, quebrantando mi pacto con ellos: porque yo soy Jehová su Dios.
45
וְזָכַרְתִּי לָהֶם, בְּרִית רִאשֹׁנִים: אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי-אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם, לִהְיוֹת לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים--אֲנִי יְהוָה.
But I will remember for them the covenant with 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 Jehovah.
noteAntes me acordaré de ellos por el pacto antiguo, cuando los saqué de la tierra de Egipto a la vista de las naciones, para ser su Dios: yo soy Jehová.
46
אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, וְהַתּוֹרֹת, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה, בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--בְּהַר סִינַי, בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה. {פ}
These are the statutes and the ordinances and the laws, which Jehovah made between himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai, by the hand of
Moses.
{פ}noteEstos son los estatutos, las ordenanzas y las leyes que Jehová estableció entre sí y los hijos de Israel en el monte Sinaí, por mano de Moisés.
Leviticus 26 meaning — idols, sabbath, sanctuary: the whole code in two verses
Before the blessings and curses begin, two verses close the Holiness Code's own opening priorities in miniature: no idols (echoing this book's own repeated warnings, most recently Leviticus 19:4, already on these pages), the sabbath kept, the sanctuary revered. Everything that follows — forty-four verses of blessing and curse — hangs entirely on these two things and the ten commandments they compress.
The blessings — rain, harvest, peace, and a people who can finally stand up straight
Ten verses of blessing move from field to nation to something closer than either: rain in season, harvest running so long into the next that threshing overlaps the grape crop and the grape crop overlaps sowing (v5), peace secure enough to lie down with nothing to fear, and victory so total that five chase a hundred, and a hundred chase ten thousand — a ratio that jumps by a factor of twenty rather than staying constant, since obedience compounds rather than merely adding up. But the blessing's real center is not weather or war: ‘I will set my dwelling among you… I will walk among you’ (vv11-12) reuses, deliberately, the exact verb for God ‘walking’ in the garden at Genesis 3:8 (already on these pages) — the same intimacy Eden lost, offered back as a covenant reward, and the same language John 1:14 (already on these pages) and Revelation 21:3 (already on these pages) use for God ‘tabernacling’ among humanity again. ⚠ V13 closes on qomemiyut, a rare word this project renders ‘upright’ — freed people who can finally stand with their heads up, not merely freed but restored to dignity.
The curses begin — and the structure is the message
What follows is thirty-two verses of escalating consequence, not a flat list — four separate waves (vv18, 21, 24, 28), each opened by the identical formula, ‘I will punish you seven times more for your sins,’ each triggered specifically by Israel's continued refusal to respond to the wave before it. The first wave (vv16-17) is disease and military defeat: terror, wasting sickness, fever, a harvest sown in vain because an enemy eats it before Israel does, and the particularly bleak detail of v17 — fleeing ‘when no one pursues you,’ the psychology of defeat outrunning any actual army.
Second wave — sky like iron, land like bronze
The first ‘seven times more’ (v18) targets agriculture directly and with a striking image: the sky itself turned to unyielding iron, the ground to bronze — no rain can fall through the one, nothing can grow from the other. Strength is ‘spent in vain’ (v20) echoes the futility already threaded through this book's blessing section in reverse: where obedience made threshing run into the grape harvest, defiance empties the same labor of any result at all.
Third wave — wild animals, and a word this chapter alone uses seven times
⚠ ‘Walk contrary to me’ (halakh imi keri) is one of the Torah's genuine translation cruxes — a rare word that occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible in this sense, seven times, only in this chapter (vv21, 23, 24, 27, 28, 40, 41), itself a structural echo of the fourfold ‘seven times’ punishment formula surrounding it. KJV and ASV both keep ‘walk contrary,’ the older, more literal-sounding option; NIV shifts to ‘remain hostile toward me,’ reading the disputed root as hostility rather than mere unpredictability. See the dictionary entry for the fuller range of readings. Here the third wave sends wild animals to rob Israel of its children and cattle, leaving roads ‘deserted’ — too dangerous to travel, the countryside itself turned hostile.
Fourth wave — siege, and ten women baking in one oven
‘A sword that avenges the vengeance of a covenant’ (v25) doubles the Hebrew root for vengeance on itself — the same intensifying construction this project has already flagged in phrases like Genesis 1's own ‘swarm with swarms’ (already on these pages), here turned to a legal penalty instead of abundance. ⚠ V26's image is domestic and devastating precisely because it is small-scale: ten women, ordinarily each baking a household's own full batch, now sharing a single oven because fuel and flour have both run out, doling out bread by careful weight — and still no one eats enough. This is the verse Haggai 1 (already on these pages) will later apply directly to Judah's own post-exilic poverty: sowing much and gathering little, eating without being satisfied, the covenant curse still operating on a much smaller scale.
Fifth wave — the worst verse in the Torah, and total desolation
⚠ V29 is the bleakest single line in this book: parents eating the flesh of their own children under siege. This is not invented for shock; it is remembered by name in Israel's own later history — at the siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:28-29, not yet on these pages) and at the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (Lamentations 2:20 and 4:10, already on these pages, which name this exact covenant penalty as the thing that actually happened). The rest of the wave is total: shrines destroyed, corpses piled on the ruins of the idols that failed to save anyone, cities razed, the land itself left so empty that even the enemies who move into it are ‘appalled’ (v32) — conquest without triumph, because there is nothing left worth conquering.
The land collects what it was denied — exile as the earth's own sabbath
⚠ Vv34-35 name the theological purpose behind the exile in terms this project has already set up: the land finally ‘enjoys its sabbaths’ it was denied — the direct payoff of Leviticus 25's own sabbatical-year law (already on these pages), now revealed as enforceable on a national scale, not merely a legal ideal Israel could quietly ignore. ‘The sound of a driven leaf’ (v36) putting fugitives to flight is one of the Bible's starkest images of psychological terror — not an army, not even a real threat, just the rustle of a single dead leaf enough to trigger a rout, because guilt has already done an enemy's work for it.
Confession, an uncircumcised heart, and a covenant remembered backward
⚠ V41's ‘uncircumcised heart’ (lev ha-arel) takes the physical sign of the covenant, first given at Genesis 17:11 (already on these pages), and applies it metaphorically to the organ that actually needs cutting — a figure this project expects to recur at Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 4:4 (neither yet on these pages), and that Paul will build an entire argument on at Romans 2:29 (already on these pages): real circumcision is a matter of the heart, not the flesh. V42 remembers the patriarchal covenant in reverse chronological order — Jacob, then Isaac, then Abraham — nearest generation first, as if working backward through a family's own memory rather than reciting a fixed formula forward. The chapter's real ending is not despair: even at the furthest point of exile, v44 promises Jehovah will not ‘break my covenant,’ and v46 closes with a colophon — ‘these are the statutes and the ordinances and the laws’ — that reads like the intended close of the whole Sinai law code beginning at Exodus 19, with Leviticus 27 arriving afterward as its own appendix.
Notes on this translation
Decisions. Hebrew and English Leviticus 26 both run 1–46 — verified against the Masoretic text, no versification shift. Only three Masoretic paragraph breaks divide this entire chapter: open after v2, closed after v26, open after v46 — the curses section (vv14-45) is a single unbroken unit in the scroll, matching its own unbroken escalation in content. Two new dictionary entries: keri, the genuinely disputed ‘contrary’ / ‘chance-encounter’ word occurring seven times, only here; and qomemiyut, ‘upright,’ occurring only at v13.
Echoes paid. Genesis 3:8's own verb for God walking in the garden (already on these pages), reused at v12 for God walking among a redeemed people; Genesis 1's own ‘swarm with swarms’ intensifying construction (already on these pages), the same doubling pattern behind v25's ‘vengeance of the covenant’; Genesis 17:11's covenant sign of circumcision (already on these pages), applied metaphorically to the heart at v41; Leviticus 19:4's ban on idols (already on these pages), restated to open this chapter; Leviticus 25's own sabbatical-year law (already on these pages), revealed at vv34-35 as the very thing exile enforces; Lamentations 2 (already on these pages), which will name this exact chapter's covenant penalty as literally fulfilled at Jerusalem's fall; and Haggai 1 (already on these pages), which applies v26's own futility curse to a much smaller, later poverty.
Echoes planted. Deuteronomy 28 (not yet on these pages), the Torah's other great blessings-and-curses chapter, running the same structure at greater length; 2 Kings 6:28-29 (not yet on these pages), where the child-cannibalism curse of v29 is remembered as historical fact at the siege of Samaria; 2 Chronicles 36:21 (not yet on these pages), which will cite this chapter's own land-sabbath language as literally fulfilled by the length of the Babylonian exile; Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 4:4 (neither yet on these pages), which will repeat v41's own uncircumcised-heart figure; and Romans 2:29 (already on these pages), where Paul builds directly on it.
⚠ A note on order: Leviticus stands complete on these pages, chapters 1–27.
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