“And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over 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.
- KJV And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish 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.
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 26:21“‘If you walk contrary to me, and won’t listen to me, then I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins.
- Lev 26:24then I will also walk contrary to you; and I will strike you, even I, seven times for your sins.
- Lev 26:28then I will walk contrary to you in wrath. I will also chastise you seven times for your sins.
- 1 Sam 2:5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. Those who were hungry are satisfied. Yes, the barren has borne seven. She who has many children languishes.
- Prov 24:16for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
- Ps 119:164Seven times a day, I praise you, because of your righteous ordinances.
- Dan 3:19Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
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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.