Leviticus 26:15

and if you reject My statutes, despise My ordinances, and neglect to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses the Israelites through Moses, defining the conditional terms of the Sinai covenant. This verse functions as the explicit trigger clause that shifts the narrative from promised blessings to impending curses.

The words — The Hebrew תִּמְאָסוּ (tim'asû) literally means "you will reject" or "despise," while תִּגְעַל נַפְשְׁכֶם (tig'al napšəḵem) translates to "your soul will abhor." These terms describe an active, internal repudiation of divine statutes and ordinances.

The thread — This structural pattern of covenant violation recurs in Deuteronomy 31:16, 2 Kings 17:15, and Numbers 15:31, where rejecting God's statutes consistently precedes national judgment or individual cutting off.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear acknowledgment that covenant loyalty requires active obedience rather than nominal affiliation. Readers must recognize that neglecting commandments constitutes a formal breach of the agreement with God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ if בְּחֻקֹּתַ֣יbe./chu.ko.Ta/i<in>/ statutes/ my תִּמְאָ֔סוּtim.'A.suyou will reject וְאִ֥םve./'Imand/ if אֶת־'et-<obj.>מִשְׁפָּטַ֖יmish.pa.Ta/ijudgments/ my תִּגְעַ֣לtig.'Alit will abhor נַפְשְׁכֶ֑םnaf.she./Khemself/ your לְבִלְתִּ֤יle./vil.Tito/ not עֲשׂוֹת֙'a.sOtto do אֶת־'et-<obj.>כָּל־kol-all מִצְוֹתַ֔יmitz.vo.Ta/icommandments/ my לְהַפְרְכֶ֖םle./haf.re./Khemto/ break/ you אֶת־'et-<obj.>בְּרִיתִֽי׃be.ri.T/icovenant/ my

King James Version

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:

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
2 Kings 17:15 They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
Numbers 15:31 He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.”
Isaiah 24:5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.
Jeremiah 11:10 They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their fathers.
Ezekiel 16:59 For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
Zechariah 7:11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
Genesis 17:14 But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
Exodus 24:7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”