Leviticus 26:35

“Final Tier of Judgment: War, Famine, and Exile”· Leviticus 26:27–39Read in context
King James Version
As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
KJV (with Strong's)
As long as H3117 it lieth desolate H8074 it shall rest H7673; because it did not rest H7673 in your sabbaths H7676, when ye dwelt H3427 upon it.
Complete Jewish Bible
Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during your Shabbats, when you lived there.
Berean Standard Bible
As long as it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not receive during the Sabbaths when you lived in it.
American Standard Version
As long as it lieth desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
World English Bible Messianic
As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it didn’t have in your Sabbaths, when you lived on it.
Geneva Bible (1599)
All the dayes that it lieth voide, it shall rest, because it did not rest in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt vpon it.
Young's Literal Translation
all the days of the desolation it resteth that which it hath not rested in your sabbaths in your dwelling on it.
Translation
See also
Romans 8:22Isaiah 24:5Isaiah 24:6
In the KJVVerse 3,560 of 31,102 · 11.4%

Study this verse

Summary

Leviticus 26:35 serves as a solemn declaration of divine judgment, underscoring God's unwavering commitment to His covenant and the foundational principles embedded within it. It prophesies that if the Israelites fail to observe the divinely mandated Sabbatical rests for the land, the land will ultimately receive its due rest during their forced absence and desolation. This serves as a direct, retributive consequence of their disobedience and neglect of God's commands, powerfully emphasizing the seriousness of covenant faithfulness and God's absolute sovereignty over His creation.

Context

Literary Context

Leviticus 26 stands as the climactic and concluding chapter of the legal and cultic instructions given in the book of Leviticus, functioning as a covenantal summary. It meticulously outlines the blessings that will accompany Israel's obedience to God's commands (vv. 3-13) and, conversely, the severe and escalating curses that will befall them for persistent disobedience (vv. 14-45). Within this structure, verses 33-35 specifically detail the ultimate consequence of Israel's unfaithfulness: exile from the promised land and its subsequent desolation. This desolation is explicitly linked to their failure to grant the land its divinely mandated Sabbath rests, a concept introduced and elaborated upon in Leviticus 25, particularly concerning the Sabbatical year (Leviticus 25:1-7) and the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-12). Thus, this verse acts as a divine guarantee that the land will receive its due rest, even if it necessitates the removal of its inhabitants.

Historical & Cultural Context

Ancient Israel was fundamentally an agrarian society, with its very existence and prosperity deeply intertwined with the productivity of the land. The laws concerning the Sabbatical year and the Year of Jubilee were revolutionary expressions of faith and trust in God's provision, demanding that the people refrain from farming every seventh year and return ancestral lands to their original families every fiftieth year. These radical commands underscored God's ultimate ownership of the land, as explicitly declared in Leviticus 25:23, directly challenging human notions of absolute possession. Culturally, neglecting these land Sabbaths represented not only a profound act of disobedience but also a deep-seated lack of trust in God's ability to sustain His people, implying that human effort and exploitation were more reliable than divine command. Historically, this prophecy found a dramatic and undeniable fulfillment during the Babylonian exile, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:21, where the land lay desolate for approximately 70 years, a period often understood as directly compensating for the cumulative missed Sabbatical years.

Key Themes

This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within Leviticus and the broader Pentateuch. It highlights God's sovereignty over creation, demonstrating His right and power to enforce His will even upon the land itself. It underscores the critical theme of covenant faithfulness, revealing that obedience to God's specific commands, even those seemingly counter-intuitive like resting the land, is paramount for Israel's continued dwelling in the Promised Land. The verse also emphasizes the consequences of disobedience, illustrating a direct, retributive justice where the punishment precisely fits the crime. Furthermore, it reinforces the theme of rest (Sabbath), not merely as a human privilege but as a divine principle woven into the fabric of creation and governance, extending even to the land itself. The failure to honor the land's rest, as detailed in Leviticus 25, leads directly to the land's forced rest through desolation.

Exposition and Analysis

Key Word Analysis

Rest shâbath' H7673

This verb (H7673) is a primitive root meaning "to repose, i.e. desist from exertion." It is the very root of the word "Sabbath." In this context, it emphasizes a divinely ordained cessation of agricultural activity, a period of repose and renewal for the land. The repetition of "rest" within the verse highlights that the land had an inherent right to this cessation, mirroring the human right to Sabbath rest. If humans would not willingly grant it, God would ensure it received its due through other, punitive means.

Desolate shâmêm' H8074

This verb (H8074) is a primitive root meaning "to stun (or intransitively, grow numb), i.e. devastate or (figuratively) stupefy (both usually in a passive sense)." It describes a state of ruin, emptiness, and abandonment, often carrying strong connotations of divine judgment and the resulting horror. The land's desolation is not merely a natural consequence but a direct, divinely enforced condition that facilitates its "rest." It signifies a complete disruption of normal life and productivity, a land laid waste.

Sabbaths shabbâth' H7676

This noun (H7676), intensive from shâbath, means "intermission, i.e. (specifically) the Sabbath." Used in the plural in this verse, it refers specifically to the multiple Sabbatical years (and implicitly, the Jubilee cycles) that Israel failed to observe. It underscores the cumulative nature of their disobedience regarding the land's prescribed rest periods. The land's forced rest in desolation is presented as a direct accounting for these neglected "sabbaths," a divine balancing of the scales.

Verse Breakdown

"As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest;"

This initial clause establishes a direct and unavoidable causal link between the land's state of desolation and its receiving its divinely appointed rest. God declares that the very condition of abandonment and ruin will serve as the means by which the land's neglected Sabbaths will be fulfilled. It powerfully highlights God's absolute sovereignty and His unwavering commitment to upholding His own laws, even if it requires severe punitive measures. The "rest" here is not a blessing enjoyed by the inhabitants but a consequence enforced by divine judgment upon the land.

"because it did not rest in your sabbaths,"

This phrase provides the explicit and damning reason for the land's desolation and forced rest. It directly indicts Israel for their persistent failure to observe the Sabbatical years and perhaps the Year of Jubilee while they inhabited the land. This neglect was a profound act of disobedience, a manifest lack of faith in God's provision, and a blatant disregard for the principles of stewardship, justice, and dependence embedded in the Mosaic Law. Their actions directly violated God's design for the land.

"when ye dwelt upon it."

This final phrase emphasizes the period of Israel's direct responsibility and culpability. The failure to grant the land its rest occurred precisely when they were in possession of it, enjoying its bounty and benefiting from its productivity. It underscores that their disobedience was a conscious and prolonged choice made while they directly benefited from God's gracious gift of the land, making the subsequent judgment a just and proportionate response to their covenant unfaithfulness and exploitation.

Literary Devices

Leviticus 26:35 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its message of divine justice and consequence. Personification is evident in the concept of the land "resting" and having "sabbaths," as if it possesses agency, rights, or a capacity for repose that was violated. This imbues the land with a quasi-moral status, making its forced rest a form of divine justice. The passage also demonstrates a profound principle of Retributive Justice, where the punishment directly mirrors the transgression: because Israel denied the land its rest, the land will receive its rest at Israel's expense, through their exile and its desolation. There is a striking Irony at play: Israel is removed from the land precisely so that the land can finally do what Israel prevented it from doing. This highlights God's ultimate control and His ability to achieve His purposes despite human rebellion. Furthermore, the verse is an integral part of a larger Covenantal Framework, operating within the "if...then" structure of blessings and curses that characterizes the Mosaic covenant, emphasizing the conditional nature of Israel's dwelling in the land and the inevitability of divine response to human action.

Theological and Thematic Connections

Leviticus 26:35 profoundly illustrates God's absolute sovereignty over creation and His unwavering commitment to the terms of His covenant. It reveals that God's laws are not arbitrary suggestions but foundational principles with real and often severe consequences for disobedience. The land's forced rest underscores the theological truth that all creation ultimately belongs to God, and humans are merely stewards. When this stewardship is neglected and divine commands are ignored, God will intervene to ensure His will is accomplished, even if it requires severe judgment and the disruption of human habitation. This verse also highlights the intricate interconnectedness of human actions, divine justice, and the natural world, demonstrating that spiritual disobedience can have tangible, environmental, and societal repercussions. It is a powerful reminder that God's justice extends to every aspect of His created order.

2 Chronicles 36:21Exodus 23:10-11Jeremiah 25:11-12

Reflection and Application

While believers today are not under the Mosaic Law concerning literal Sabbatical years for the land, the profound principles embedded in Leviticus 26:35 remain deeply relevant for our lives. This verse calls us to a deep and honest reflection on our obedience to God's commands and our stewardship of all that He has graciously entrusted to us—our time, financial resources, relationships, gifts, and the natural world. It serves as a potent reminder that neglecting God's design for rest, balance, justice, and faithful reliance, whether in our personal lives or in our collective societal practices, can lead to unintended and often painful consequences. Just as God ensured the land received its due rest, He will ultimately ensure His purposes are fulfilled in our lives and in the world, often through challenging circumstances that force us to confront our disobedience, repent, and realign with His perfect will. It encourages us to cultivate a posture of profound trust in God's provision, recognizing that true flourishing and lasting peace come from honoring His ways, not from relentless human striving, exploitation, or self-sufficiency.

Questions for Reflection

  1. In what areas of my life (spiritual disciplines, physical well-being, relational boundaries, financial management) do I resist God's call to "rest," relinquish control, or practice faithful stewardship, and what might be the potential consequences?
  2. How does this verse challenge my understanding of God's justice and sovereignty, especially when I observe suffering, desolation, or difficult circumstances in the world or in my own life?
  3. What practical steps can I take to better align my life with the principles of rest, trust, and faithful stewardship that Leviticus 26:35 implicitly teaches?

FAQ

What is the "rest" the land was supposed to have?

The "rest" the land was supposed to have refers primarily to the Sabbatical year (Hebrew: shmita), a divine command detailed in Leviticus 25:1-7. Every seventh year, the land was to lie fallow; no sowing, pruning, or harvesting was permitted. This was not merely an agricultural practice for soil replenishment but a profound theological one, designed to demonstrate Israel's complete trust in God's provision and to acknowledge His ultimate ownership of the land. This principle of rest also extended to the Year of Jubilee, occurring every fiftieth year, which involved an even greater cessation of work and the return of ancestral lands to their original families, as meticulously detailed in Leviticus 25:8-12.

How was this prophecy fulfilled?

This prophecy found its most significant and dramatic historical fulfillment during the Babylonian exile. Because Israel had failed to observe the Sabbatical years for centuries, accumulating a debt of neglected rests for the land, God declared that the land would receive its neglected rest during their forced absence. 2 Chronicles 36:21 explicitly states that the land "enjoyed its Sabbaths" for the duration of the 70 years of desolation following the Babylonian conquest, thereby fulfilling the very word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. This extended period of desolation directly compensated for the accumulated missed Sabbatical years, powerfully underscoring God's absolute faithfulness to His covenant word, both in promised blessing and in inevitable judgment.

Christ-Centered Fulfillment

Leviticus 26:35, with its stark emphasis on the land's forced rest due to Israel's disobedience, powerfully foreshadows the ultimate rest found in Christ. Humanity's pervasive failure to obey God's commands, including the spiritual principles behind the Sabbath and faithful stewardship, led to a state of spiritual desolation and a profound exile from God's life-giving presence. Just as the land needed a forced rest because Israel failed to provide it, humanity desperately needed a divine intervention to restore true rest and reconcile with God. Jesus Christ is the ultimate "rest" for our weary souls, extending an eternal invitation to all who are burdened by sin and striving to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30). Through His perfect obedience to the Father's will and His sacrificial death on the cross, He bore the full weight of the judgment for our disobedience, allowing us to enter into a spiritual Sabbath rest from the futile works of the law and the crushing burden of sin (Hebrews 4:9-10). He is the true and faithful steward of all creation, through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17), and His redemptive work extends not only to humanity but also to the groaning creation itself, which eagerly awaits its liberation from the bondage of decay and its restoration through Him (Romans 8:19-23). Thus, the land's forced rest in Leviticus 26:35 points prophetically to the profound truth that God's justice will always prevail, and ultimately, His creation, and His people, will find their true and lasting rest in the finished, redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

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Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Leviticus 26:14–39. His four-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.

1662–1714 · 26 verses
Passage under commentLeviticus 26:14–39
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details[1.] [2.] Fine details

After God had set the blessing before them (the life and good which would make them a happy people if they would be obedient), he here sets the curse before them, the death and evil which would make them as miserable if they were disobedient. Let them not think themselves so deeply rooted as that God's power could not ruin them, nor so highly favoured as that his justice would not ruin them if they revolted from him and rebelled against him; no You only have I known, therefore I will punish you soonest and sorest. Amo 3:2. Observe,

I.How their sin is described, which would bring all this misery upon them.

Not sins of ignorance and infirmity; God had provided sacrifices for those. Not the sins they repented of and forsook; but the sins that were presumptuously committed, and obstinately persisted in. Two things would certainly bring this ruin upon them: -

1.A contempt of God's commandments (Lev 26:14): "If you will not hearken to me speaking to you by the law, nor do all these commandments, that is, desire and endeavour to do them, and, wherein you miss it, make use of the prescribed remedies." Thus their sin is supposed to begin in mere carelessness, and neglect, and omission. These are bad enough, but they make way for worse; for the people are brought in (Lev 26:15) as,

(1.)Despising God's statutes, both the duties enjoined and the authority enjoining them, thinking meanly of the law and the Law-maker. Note, Those are hastening apace to their own ruin who begin to think it below them to be religious.

(2.)Abhorring his judgments, their very souls abhorring them. Note, Those that begin to despise religion will come by degrees to loathe it; and mean thoughts of it will ripen into ill thoughts of it; those that turn from it will turn against it, and their hearts will rise at it.

(3.)Breaking his covenant. Though every breach of the commandment does not amount to a breach of the covenant (we were undone if it did), yet, when men have come to such a pitch of impiety as to despise and abhor the commandment, the next step will be to disown God, and all relation to him. Those that reject the precept will come at last to renounce the covenant. Observe, It is God's covenant which they break: he made it, but they break it. Note, If a covenant be made and kept between God and man, God must have all the honour; but, if ever it be broken, man must bear all the blame: on him shall this breach be.

2.A contempt of his corrections. Even their disobedience would not have been their destruction if they had not been obstinate and impenitent in it, notwithstanding the methods God took to reclaim them. Their contempt of God's word would not have brought them to ruin, if they had not added to that a contempt of his rod, which should have brought them to repentance. Three ways this is expressed: - (1.) "If you will not for all this hearken to me, Lev 26:18, Lev 26:21, Lev 26:27. If you will not learn obedience by the things which you suffer, but be as deaf to the loud alarms of God's judgments as you have been to the close reasonings of his word and the secret whispers of your own consciences, you are obstinate indeed." (2.) "If you walk contrary to me, Lev 26:21, Lev 26:23, Lev 26:27. All sinners walk contrary to God, to his truths, laws, and counsels; but those especially that are incorrigible under his judgments. The design of the rod is to humble them, and soften them, and bring them to repentance; but, instead of this, their hearts are more hardened and exasperated against God, and in their distress they trespass yet more against him, Ch2 28:22. This is walking contrary to God. Some read it, "If you walk at all adventures with me, carelessly and presumptuously, as if you heeded not either what you do, whether it be right or wrong, or what God does with you, whether it be for you or against you, blundering on in wilful ignorance." (3.) If you will not be reformed by these things. God's design in punishing is to reform, by giving men sensible convictions of the evil of sin, and obliging them to seek unto him for relief: this is the primary intention; but those that will not be reformed by the judgments of God must expect to be ruined by them. Those have a great deal to answer for that have been long and often under God's correcting hand, and yet go on frowardly in a sinful way; sick and in pain, and yet not reformed; crossed and impoverished, and yet not reformed; broken with breach upon breach, yet not returning to the Lord, Amo 4:6, etc.

II.How the misery is described which their sin would bring upon them, under two heads: -

1.God himself would be against them; and this is the root and cause of all their misery. (1.) I will set my face against you (Lev 26:17), that is, "I will set myself against you, set myself to ruin you." These proud sinners God will resist, and face those down that confront his authority. Or the face is put for the anger: "I will show myself highly displeased at you." (2.) I will walk contrary to you (Lev 26:24, Lev 26:28); with the forward he will wrestle, Psa 18:26 [margin]. When God in his providence thwarts the designs of a people, which they thought well laid, crosses their purposes, breaks their measures, blasts their endeavours, and disappoints their expectations, then he walks contrary to them. Note, There is nothing got by striving with God Almighty, for he will break either the heart or the neck of those that contend with him, will bring them either to repentance or ruin. "I will walk at all adventures with you," so some read; "all covenant loving-kindness shall be forgotten, and I will leave you to common providence." Note, Those that cast off God deserve that he should cast them off. (3.) As they continued obstinate, the judgments should increase yet more upon them. If the first sensible tokens of God's displeasures do not attain their end, to humble and reform them, then (Lev 26:18), I will punish you seven times more, and again (Lev 26:21), I will bring seven times more plagues, and (Lev 26:24), I will punish you yet seven times, and (Lev 26:28), I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. Note, If less judgments do not do their work, God will send greater; for, when he judges, he will overcome. If true repentance do not stay process, it will go on till execution be taken out. Those that are obstinate and incorrigible, when they have weathered one storm must expect another more violent; and, how severely soever they are punished, till they are in hell they must still say, "There is worse behind," unless they repent. If the founder have hitherto melted in vain (Jer 6:29), the furnace will be heated seven times hotter (a proverbial expression, used Dan 3:19), and again and again seven times hotter; and who among us can dwell with such devouring fire? God does not begin with the sorest judgments, to show that he is patient, and delights not in the death of sinners; but, if they repent not, he will proceed to the sorest, to show that he is righteous, and that he will not be mocked or set at defiance. (4.) Their misery is completed in that threatening: My soul shall abhor you, Lev 26:30. That man is as miserable as he can be whom God abhors; for his resentments are just and effective. Thus if any man draw back, as these are supposed to do, God's soul shall have no pleasure in him (Heb 10:38), and he will spue them out of his mouth, Rev 3:16. It is spoken of as strange, and yet too true, Hath thy soul loathed Zion? Jer 14:19.

2.The whole creation would be at war with them. All God's sore judgments would be sent against them; for he hath many arrows in his quiver. The threatenings here are very particular, because really they were prophecies, and he that foresaw all their rebellions knew they would prove so; see Deu 31:16, Deu 31:29. This long roll of threatening shows that evil pursues sinners. We have here,

(1.)Temporal judgments threatened.

[1.]Diseases of body, which should be epidemical: I will appoint over you, as task-masters, to rule you with rigour, terror, consumption, and the burning ague, Lev 26:16. What we translate terror, some think, signifies a particular disease, probably (says the learned bishop Patrick) the falling sickness, which is terror indeed: all chronical diseases are included in the consumption, and all acute diseases in the burning ague or fever. These consume the eyes, and cause sorrow both to those that are visited with them and to their friends and relations. Note, All diseases are God's servants; they do what he appoints them, and are often used as scourges wherewith he chastises a provoking people. The pestilence is threatened (Lev 26:25) to meet them, when they are gathered together in their cities for fear of the sword. The greater the concourse of people is, the greater desolation does the pestilence make; and, when it gets among the soldiers that should defend a place, it is of most fatal consequence.

[2.]Famine and scarcity of bread, which should be brought upon them several ways; as, First, By plunder (Lev 26:16): Your enemies shall eat it up, and carry it off as the Midianites did, Jdg 6:5, Jdg 6:6. Secondly, By unseasonable weather, especially the want of rain (Lev 26:19): I will make your heaven as iron, letting fall no rain, but reflecting heat, and then the earth would of course be as dry and hard as brass, and their labour in ploughing and sowing would be in vain (Lev 26:20); for the increase of the earth depends upon God's good providence more than upon man's good husbandry. This should be the breaking of the staff of bread (Lev 26:26), which life leans upon, and is supported by, on which perhaps they had leaned more than upon God's blessing. There should be so great a dearth of corn that, whereas every family used to fill an oven of their own with household bread, now ten families should have to fill but one over, which would bring themselves and their children and servants to short allowance, so that they should eat and not be satisfied. The less they had the more craving should their appetites be. Thirdly, By the besieging of their cities, which would reduce them to such an extremity that they should eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, Lev 26:29.

[3.]War, and the prevailing of their enemies over them: "You shall be slain before your enemies, Lev 26:17. Your choice men shall die in battle, and those that hate you shall reign over you, and justly, since you are not willing that the God that loved you should reign over you;" Ch2 12:8. Miserable is that people whose enemies are their rulers and have got dominion over them, or whose rulers have become their enemies and under-hand seek the ruin of their interests. Thus God would break the pride of their power, Lev 26:19. God had given them power over the nations; but when they, instead of being thankful for that power, and improving it for the service of God's kingdom, grew proud of it, and perverted the intentions of it, it was just with God to break it. Thus God would bring a sword upon them to avenge the quarrel of his covenant, Lev 26:25. Note, God has a just quarrel with those that break covenant with him, for he will not be mocked by the treachery of perfidious men; and one way or other he will avenge this quarrel upon those that play at fast and loose with him.

[4.]Wild beasts, lions, bears, and wolves, which should increase upon them, and tear in pieces all that come in their way (Lev 26:22), as we read of two bears that in an instant killed forty-two children, Kg2 2:24. This is one of the four sore judgments threatened Eze 14:21, which plainly refers to this chapter. Man was made to have dominion over the creatures, and, though many of them are stronger than he, yet none of them could have hurt him, nay, all of them would have served him, if he had not first shaken off God's dominion, and so lost his own; and now the creatures are in rebellion against him that is in rebellion against his Maker, and, when the Lord of those hosts pleases, they are the executioners of his wrath and the ministers of his justice.

[5.]Captivity, or dispersion: I will scatter you among the heathen (Lev 26:33), in your enemies' land, Lev 26:34. Never were any people so incorporated and united among themselves as they were; but for their sin God would scatter them, so that they should be lost among the heathen, from whom God had graciously distinguished them, but with whom they had wickedly mingled themselves. Yet, when they were scattered, divine justice had not done with them, but would draw out a sword after them, which would find them out, and follow them wherever they were. God's judgments, as they cannot be outfaced, so they cannot be outrun.

[6.]The utter ruin and desolation of their land, which should be so remarkable that their very enemies themselves, who ha helped it forward, should in the review be astonished at it, Lev 26:32. First, Their cities should be waste, forsaken, uninhabited, and all the buildings destroyed; those that escaped the desolations of war should fall to decay of themselves. Secondly, Their sanctuaries should be a desolation, that is, their synagogues where they met for religious worship every sabbath, as well as their tabernacle where they met thrice a year. Thirdly, The country itself should be desolate, not tilled or husbanded (Lev 26:34, Lev 26:35); then the land should enjoy its sabbaths, because they had not religiously observed the sabbatical years which God appointed them. They tilled their ground when God would have them let it rest; justly therefore were they driven out of it; and the expression intimates that the ground itself was pleased and easy when it was rid of the burden of such sinners, under which it had groaned, Rom 8:20, etc. The captivity in Babylon lasted seventy years, and so long the land enjoyed her sabbaths, as is said (Ch2 36:21) with reference to this.

[7.]The destruction of their idols, though rather a mercy than a judgment, yet, being a necessary piece of justice, is here mentioned, to show what would be the sin that would bring all these miseries upon them: I will destroy your high places, Lev 26:30. Those that will not be parted from their sins by the commands of God shall be parted from them by his judgments; since they would not destroy their high places, God would. And, to upbraid them with the unreasonable fondness they had shown for their idols, it is foretold that their carcases should be cast upon the carcases of their idols. Those that are wedded to their lusts will sooner or later have enough of them. Their idols would not be able to help either themselves or their worshippers; but, those that made them being like them, they should both perish alike, and fall together as blind into the ditch.

(2.)Spiritual judgments are here threatened. These should seize the mind; for he that made the mind can, when he pleases, make his sword approach to it. It is here threatened,

[1.]That they should find no acceptance with God: I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours, Lev 26:31. Though the judgments of God upon them did not separate them and their sins, yet they extorted incense from them; but in vain - even their incense was an abomination, Isa 1:13.

[2.]That they should have no courage in their wars, but should be quite dispirited and disheartened. They should not only fear and flee (Lev 26:17), but fear and fall, when none pursued, Lev 26:36. A guilty conscience would be their continual terror, so that not only the sound of a trumpet, but the very sound of a leaf, should chase them. Note, Those that cast off the fear of God expose themselves to the fear of every thing else, Pro 28:1. Their very fears should dash them one against another, Lev 26:37, Lev 26:38. And those that had increased one another's guilt would now increase one another's fears.

[3.]That they should have no hope of the forgiveness of their sins (Lev 26:39): They shall pine away in their iniquity, and how should they then live? Eze 33:10. Note, It is a righteous thing with God to leave those to despair of pardon that have presumed to sin; and it is owing to free grace if we are not abandoned to pine away in the iniquity we were born in and have lived in.

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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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