Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 26:21

And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

21. plagues ] See on Lev 13:2.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Contrary unto me, or, carelessly or heedlessly with me, or

before me, i.e. so as to be careless and unconcerned whether you please me or offend me. This is opposed to exact and circumspect walking with God, as Abraham did, Gen 17:1, and all are to do, Eph 5:15.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

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.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The second stage. – But if the people’s resistance amounted to a hostile rebellion against God, He would smite them sevenfold for their sin by sending beasts of prey and childlessness. By beasts of prey He would destroy their cattle, and by barrenness He would make the nation so small that the ways would be deserted, that high roads would cease because there would be no traveller upon them on account of the depopulation of the land (Isa 33:8; Zep 3:6), and the few inhabitants who still remained would be afraid to venture because of the wild beasts (Eze 14:15). (“to go a meeting with a person,” i.e., to meet a person in a hostile manner, to fight against him) only occurs here in Lev 26:21 and Lev 26:23, and is strengthened in Lev 26:24, Lev 26:27, Lev 26:28, Lev 26:40, Lev 26:41 into , to engage in a hostile encounter with a person. , a sevenfold blow. “ According to your sins, ” i.e., answering to them sevenfold. In Lev 26:22 the first clause corresponds to the third, and the second to the fourth, so that Nos. 3 and 4 contain the effects of Nos. 1 and 2.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Verses 21-26:

3. The third degree of punishment: infestation of the land by wild, ravenous beasts, who would attack and slay both men and livestock, see 2 Kings 17:25.

If they still failed to repent and return to God, He would send upon them still other, more destructive measures.

4. The fourth degree, consisting of three stages:

(1) Invasion by foreign armies, and the result siege of cities;

(2) Famine in the fortified cities, with the resulting “pestilence,” deber, “plague;”

(3) Scarcity of food, requiring strict rationing. See Eze 5:12 ; 4:16, 17.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

21. And if ye walk. Translators give various renderings of the word קרי, (226) keri. The Chaldee takes it to mean with hardness, as if it were their purpose to contend against God. Jerome renders it ex adverso mihi, (in opposition to me;) but, since the word signifies an accidental occurrence, or contingency, this sense has seemed to me much the most appropriate. To “walk at adventures” ( fortuito) with God, therefore, is equivalent to passing by His judgments with their eyes shut; and even so to stupify themselves as to ascribe their adversities to fortune, and thus not to be humbled beneath His mighty hand; for hence arises unconquerable obstinacy, when the sinner imagines that whatever he suffers happens by chance. Therefore Jeremiah inveighs against the Jews in a severe reproof, because they supposed that evil and good did not proceed from the ordinance and decree of God, ( Lam 3:38😉 for hence is engendered brutal madness, so that wretched men rush with all their might to their own destruction. It will accord very well, then, that if men do not take heed to God’s judgments, but rush onwards like furious beasts, His meeting with them will be, as it were, fortuitous, when He shall smite them indiscriminately, from right to left, high and low, as we say in French aller a tors et travers. This, therefore, the sinner at length obtains by his stupid obstinacy, that, overwhelmed by his manifold punishments, he sees no end to his troubles. Meanwhile there is no doubt but that Moses rebukes the iron obstinacy of the people, as David declares, that with the gentle God will be gentle, but that He will be stubborn, as it were, with the perverse. ( Psa 18:25.) He finally points out the source of obstinacy, when the sinner is intoxicated by his stupidity into contempt for God, whilst he turns away from himself, as much as possible, the sense of His wrath. Let us learn, then, to withdraw our thoughts from vague speculations to the consideration of God’s hand in all the punishments which He inflicts; because hence will arise acknowledgment of our guilt, which may lead to repentance. Else that will occur which Isaiah seems to have taken from this passage, that God’s anger will never be turned away; but that, when we think that we are acquitted, His hand will be stretched out still. ( Isa 9:12.)

(226) “Fortuito.” — Lat. A noun from קרה, to meet, to run against, to occur. It is not from S M. that C. has learnt what he here correctly states, viz., that the Chaldee Paraphrast, or Onkelos in his Targum on the Pentateuch gives קשיו, hardness, as his interpretation of the word. — W

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(21) And if ye walk contrary unto me.That is, continue the defiance of the Divine law, and rebel against Gods authority. The third warning, contained in Lev. 26:21-22, threatens them with destruction by wild beasts.

Seven times more plagues.That is, a still greater number. (See Lev. 26:18.)

According to your sins.This increased number of scourges will be in proportion to their sins, since their defiance, in spite of the two preceding classes of punishments, aggravates and enhances their guilt.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

21. Walk contrary unto me Literally, go into encounter with me. Sin against the divine law is collision with the divine Person. Hence pantheism, in teaching the impersonality of God, destroys the sense of the guilt of sin.

Plagues Smitings. Not merely natural consequences of disobedience, but positive inflictions. The more aggravated the sin, the more severe the chastisement, though even then not equal to the demerit of their transgression.

According to your sins All this is spoken of temporal inflictions, else the nation had perished. See Psa 130:3.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Lev 26:21. If ye walk contrary unto me In the 23rd and 24th verses, &c. this same phrase is used. The Hebrew is, literally, in opposition to me; [ bekeri,] and, consequently, the remarks which some have formed upon the marginal translation of our English Bibles are of no weight.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Reader in this view of the divine progress in correction, do not overlook that all is in tender mercy. It should seem that the prophet had in contemplation this chapter when he speaks of GOD’S four sore judgments. Eze 14:21 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Lev 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

Ver. 21. Contrary unto me. ] Or, Carelessly before me; as our ungirt Christians, profligate professors do.

Seven times more Plagues. ] God cannot be exhausted, neither need we fear, as he did of his Jupiter.

“ Si quoties peccent homines, sua fulmina mittat

Iupiter, exiguo tempore inermis erit. ”

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)