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“‘If by these things you won’t be reformed to me, but will walk contrary to me;
Leviticus 26:23 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
  • BSB And if in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me,
  • NKJV ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me,
  • NASB ‘And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me,
  • NLT “And if you fail to learn the lesson and continue your hostility toward me,

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 discipline still does not reform Israel and they keep opposing God, judgment will continue. God's correction calls for genuine repentance.

Overview

This verse marks another stage in the escalating warnings, hinging on whether Israel will be 'reformed,' that is, truly corrected. God's purpose in discipline is reformation of the heart, not mere suffering. The conditional language shows that the path back to blessing always lies open through repentance.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Jer 5:3O Yahweh, don’t your eyes look on truth? You have stricken them, but they were not grieved. You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.
  • Jer 2:30“I have struck your children in vain. They received no correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
  • Amos 4:6–12“I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in every town; yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.
  • 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.
  • Isa 1:16–20Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.
  • Ezek 24:13–14In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 26:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 26:23 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.