And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If you in spite of these things will not listen to me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.
- BSB And if after all this you will not obey Me, I will proceed to punish you sevenfold for your sins.
- NKJV ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
- NASB If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
- NLT “And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If Israel still will not listen, God will increase their discipline sevenfold. God's discipline intensifies to bring His people to repentance.
Overview
The escalating 'seven times' signals fuller, not necessarily literally sevenfold, measures of discipline meant to awaken Israel. God does not abandon His people at the first curse but increases pressure to lead them to repentance. This reflects the fatherly purpose behind divine chastisement (Hebrews 12), which is corrective, not merely punitive.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Lev 26:21And 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.
- Lev 26:24Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
- Lev 26:28Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
- 1 Sam 2:5They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
- Prov 24:16For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
- Ps 119:164Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
- Dan 3:19Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 26:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.