Bible Strands
Leviticus 26:23
And if in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Israel through Moses within the covenant stipulations of Leviticus 26, outlining escalating curses following the judgment of wild animals in verse 22. The verse marks the conditional trigger where continued rebellion after initial corrections shifts the relationship from discipline to open hostility.
The words — The Hebrew תִוּסְרוּ (ti.vas.ru) literally means "you will be disciplined," while קֶרִי (ke.ri) denotes "contrariness" or "hostility." The text states that Israel's refusal to accept correction and their continued walk of opposition directly provoke God's response.
The thread — This pattern of rejected discipline and divine hostility recurs in Jeremiah 2:30 and Jeremiah 5:3, where struck sons and devoured prophets meet no repentance, and in Amos 4:6, where withheld bread and teeth cleansed fail to bring Israel back to God.
Why it lands — The passage demands a concrete response to correction rather than prolonged defiance. It establishes that persistent hostility toward divine instruction guarantees escalated judgment rather than continued patience.
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
King James Version
And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 2:30 “I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
- Jeremiah 5:3 O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
- Amos 4:6 “I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Leviticus 26:21 If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
- Isaiah 1:16 Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Ezekiel 24:13 Because of the indecency of your uncleanness I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be purified from your filthiness. You will not be pure again until My wrath against you has subsided.