Leviticus 26:23-26 - Exposition

Punishment in its fourth degree. I will bring a sword upon yon, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant:… I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy— that is, ye shall go into captivity … and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. Cf. Ezekiel 5:12 , "A third part of thee shall die with pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them." The famine that is to come upon them is described as making ten women bake bread in one oven, —whereas in ordinary times one oven was only sufficient for one woman's baking—and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight; that is, the quantity baked will have to be weighed out in rations, before any one is allowed to take it. See 2 Kings 6:25 ; Isaiah 3:1 ; Jeremiah 14:18 ; and as illustrative of the last point, Ezekiel 4:16 , "Behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment."