Leviticus 26:18 (WEB)

Passage

“‘If you in spite of these things will not listen to me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away. You will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it.

Leviticus 26:17 I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.

Leviticus 26:18 “‘If you in spite of these things will not listen to me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.

Leviticus 26:19 I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your sky like iron, and your soil like brass.

Leviticus 26:20 Your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won’t yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "spite", "things", "listen", "chastise", "seven", "times", and "sins". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "spite" and "things", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "I will set my face against you..." into verse 19's "I will break the pride of your...", so "spite" and "things" 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 "spite" and "things" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.