Leviticus 26:15 (KJV)

Passage

And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

Nearby Context

Leviticus 26:13 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

Leviticus 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Leviticus 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "despise", "statutes", "soul", "abhor", "judgments", "commandments", and "break". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "despise", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "But if ye will not hearken unto..." into verse 16's "I also will do this unto you...", so "shall" and "despise" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "despise" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.