Leviticus 26:14–33

Punishment for Not Obeying God

¹⁴“ ‘But if you do not obey me and keep all my commands, ¹⁵and if you turn away from my rules and hate my laws, refusing to obey all my commands, you have broken our agreement. ¹⁶As a result, I will do this to you: I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever that will destroy your eyes and slowly kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed, and your enemy will eat your crops. ¹⁷I will be against you, and your enemies will defeat you. These people who hate you will rule over you, and you will run away even when no one is chasing you.

¹⁸“ ‘If after all this you still do not obey me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹I will break your great pride, and I will make the sky like iron and the earth like bronze. ^{n 20}You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not grow any crops, and your trees will not give their fruit.

²¹“ ‘If you still turn against me and refuse to obey me, I will beat you seven times harder. The more you sin, the more you will be punished. ²²I will send wild animals to attack you, and they will take your children away from you and destroy your cattle. They will make you so few in number the roads will be empty.

²³“ ‘If you don’t learn your lesson after all these things, and if you still turn against me, ²⁴I will also turn against you. I will punish you seven more times for your sins. ²⁵You broke my agreement, and I will punish you. I will bring armies against you, and if you go into your cities for safety, I will cause diseases to spread among you so that your enemy will defeat you. ²⁶There will be very little bread to eat; ten women will be able to cook all your bread in one oven. They will measure each piece of bread, and you will eat, but you will still be hungry.

²⁷“ ‘If you still refuse to listen to me and still turn against me, ²⁸I will show my great anger; I will punish you seven more times for your sins. ²⁹You will eat the bodies of your sons and daughters. ³⁰I will destroy your places where gods are worshiped and cut down your incense altars. I will pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols. I will hate you. ³¹I will destroy your cities and make your holy places empty, and I will not smell the pleasing smell of your offerings. ³²I will make the land empty so that your enemies who come to live in it will be shocked at it. ³³I will scatter you among the nations, and I will pull out my sword and destroy you. Your land will become empty, your cities a waste.