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 . read more
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... read more
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... read more
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,... read more
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 . read more
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... read more
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 Jews F16 Torat 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,... read more
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,... read more
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... read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 26:22
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 ;... read more