Leviticus 26:31

Christian Standard Bible ®

I will reduce your cities to ruins and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I won't smell the savor of your sweet odors.

King James Version
And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

Lexham English Bible
And I will lay your cities in ruins, and I will lay waste your sanctuaries; and I shall not smell your sacrifices' appeasing fragrance.

New Century Version
I will destroy your cities and make your holy places empty, and I will not smell the pleasing smell of your offerings.

New English Translation
I will lay your cities waste and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas.

Amplified Bible
'I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your sweet and soothing aromas [of offerings by fire].

New American Standard Bible
'I will turn your cities into ruins as well and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And I will make your cities desolate, and bring your Sanctuarie vnto nought, and will not smell the sauour of your sweete odours.

Legacy Standard Bible
And I will give your cities over as a waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.

Contemporary English Version
I'll wipe out your towns and your places of worship and will no longer be pleased with the smell of your sacrifices.

Complete Jewish Bible
I will lay waste to your cities and make your sanctuaries desolate, so as not to smell your fragrant aromas.

Darby Translation
And I will lay waste your cities and desolate your sanctuaries; and I will not smell your sweet odours.

Easy-to-Read Version
I will destroy your cities. I will make your holy places empty. I will stop smelling your offerings.

English Standard Version
And I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas.

George Lamsa Translation
And I will make your cities waste and reduce your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odors.

Good News Translation
I will turn your cities into ruins, destroy your places of worship, and refuse to accept your sacrifices.

Literal Translation
And I shall make your cities a waste, and shall make your sanctuaries desolate; and I shall not smell your sweet fragrances.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And youre cities wyll I make waist, and brynge youre churches to naught, and wyll not smell youre swete odoures.

American Standard Version
And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.

Bible in Basic English
And I will make your towns waste and send destruction on your holy places; I will take no pleasure in the smell of your sweet perfumes;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I wyll make your cities desolate, and bring your sanctuarie vnto naught, and wyll not smell the sauour of your sweete odours.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

King James Version (1611)
And I wil make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries vnto desolation, and I will not smell the sauour of your sweet odours.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I will lay your cities waste, and I will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell the savour of your sacrifices.

English Revised Version
And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

Berean Standard Bible
I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste to your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
in so myche that Y turne youre citees in to wildirnesse, and make youre seyntuaries forsakun, nether Y schal resseyue more the swettest odour;

Young's Literal Translation
and I have made your cities a waste, and have made desolate your sanctuaries, and I smell not at your sweet fragrances;

Update Bible Version
And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.

World English Bible
I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I won't smell the savor of your sweet odors.

New King James Version
I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.

New Living Translation
I will make your cities desolate and destroy your places of pagan worship. I will take no pleasure in your offerings that should be a pleasing aroma to me.

New Life Bible
I will destroy your cities also, and your holy places. I will not smell your pleasing smells.

New Revised Standard
I will lay your cities waste, will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And I will give your cities unto desolation, And make your holy places dumb, - And will find no fragrance in your satisfying odour;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Insomuch that I will bring your cities to be a wilderness: and I will make your sanctuaries desolate: and will receive no more your sweet odours.

Revised Standard Version
And I will lay your cities waste, and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.

Contextual Overview

¹⁴“But if you do not obey me and observe all these commands— ¹⁵if you reject my statutes and despise my ordinances, and do not observe all my commands—and break my covenant, ¹⁶then I will do this to you: I will bring terror on you—wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you. ¹⁸“But if after these things you will not obey me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins. ¹⁹I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, ²⁰and your strength will be used up for nothing. Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit. ²¹“If you act with hostility toward me and are unwilling to obey me, I will multiply your plagues seven times for your sins. ²²I will send wild animals against you that will deprive you of your children, ravage your livestock, and reduce your numbers until your roads are deserted. ²³“If in spite of these things you do not accept my discipline, but act with hostility toward me,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

And I will make: 2 Kings 25:4-10, 2 Chronicles 36:19, Nehemiah 2:3, Nehemiah 2:17, Isaiah 1:7, Isaiah 24:10-12, Jeremiah 4:7, Jeremiah 9:11, Lamentations 1:1, Lamentations 2:7, Ezekiel 6:6, Ezekiel 21:15, Micah 3:12

and bring: Psalms 74:3-8, Jeremiah 22:5, Jeremiah 26:6, Jeremiah 26:9, Jeremiah 52:13, Lamentations 1:10, Ezekiel 9:6, Ezekiel 21:7, Ezekiel 24:21, Matthew 24:1, Matthew 24:2, Luke 21:5, Luke 21:6, Luke 21:24, Acts 6:14

I will not smell: Genesis 8:21, Isaiah 1:11-14, Isaiah 66:3, Amos 5:21-23, Hebrews 10:26

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 4:26 - ye shall Deuteronomy 28:20 - until thou be Joshua 23:13 - until ye perish 1 Samuel 26:19 - accept 2 Kings 22:19 - a desolation 1 Chronicles 10:7 - then they Isaiah 5:5 - I will take Jeremiah 13:19 - Judah Jeremiah 17:4 - shalt Ezekiel 5:14 - I will Daniel 2:46 - and sweet Hosea 11:6 - the sword Amos 7:9 - the high Luke 13:35 - your

Cross-References

Genesis 14:22
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

Genesis 19:2
and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”

Genesis 21:14
Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba.

Genesis 21:23
Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a resident alien.”

Genesis 22:3
So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.

Genesis 25:33
Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him.

Genesis 26:16
And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

Genesis 26:17
So Isaac left there, camped in the Gerar Valley, and lived there.

Genesis 26:31
They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

Genesis 26:32
On that same day Isaac’s servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!”

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I will make your cities waste,.... By suffering the enemy to besiege them, enter into them, and plunder them, and destroy the houses in them, and reduce them to the most desolate condition, as Jerusalem, their metropolis, was more than once:

and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation; the temple, so called from the several apartments in it, the court, the holy place, and the most holy; or rather both sanctuaries or temples are intended, the first built by Solomon, and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; the second rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and adorned by Herod, and reduced to ashes by Titus Vespasian: the Jews understand this of their synagogues, which were many both in Jerusalem, and in other parts of their country, but cannot be intended, since it follows:

and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours: of their incense offered on the altar of incense; or the savour of their offerings, as the Targum of Jonathan, of their burnt offerings, and the fat of their other offerings burnt on the altar of burnt offering; signifying, that these would not be acceptable to him, or he smell a savour of rest in them; see Genesis 8:21; now these were only offered in the temple, not in synagogues.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

As “the book of the covenant” Exodus 20:22-33 concludes with promises and warnings Exodus 23:20-33, so does this collection of laws contained in the Book of Leviticus. But the former passage relates to the conquest of the land of promise, this one to the subsequent history of the nation. The longer similar passage in Deuteronomy Deut. 27–30 is marked by broader and deeper promises and denunciations having immediate reference not only to outward consequences, but to the spiritual death incurred by transgressing the divine will.

Leviticus 26:4

Rain in due season - The periodical rains, on which the fertility of the holy land so much depends, are here spoken of. There are two wet seasons, called in Scripture the former and the latter rain Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Joel 2:23; Hosea 6:3; James 5:7. The former or Autumn rain falls in heavy showers in November and December. In March the latter or Spring rain comes on, which is precarious in quantity and duration, and rarely lasts more than two days.

Leviticus 26:5

Compare the margin reference; Joel 2:19; Job 11:18.

Leviticus 26:8

Five of you shall chase - A proverbial mode of expression for superiority in warlike prowess Deuteronomy 32:30; Isaiah 30:17.

Leviticus 26:9

Establish my covenant - All material blessings were to be regarded in the light of seals of the “everlasting covenant.” Compare Genesis 17:4-8; Nehemiah 9:23.

Leviticus 26:10

Bring forth the old because of the new - Rather, clear away the old before the new; that is, in order to make room for the latter. Compare the margin reference.

Leviticus 26:16

The first warning for disobedience is disease. “Terror” (literally trembling) is rendered trouble in Psalms 78:33; Isaiah 65:23. It seems here to denote that terrible affliction, an anxious temperament, the mental state ever at war with Faith and Hope. This might well be placed at the head of the visitations on a backslider who had broken the covenant with his God. Compare Deuteronomy 32:25; Jeremiah 15:8; Proverbs 28:1; Job 24:17; Psalms 23:4.

Consumption, and the burning ague - Compare the margin reference. The first of the words in the original comes from a root signifying to waste away; the latter (better, fever), from one signifying to kindle a fire. Consumption is common in Egypt and some parts of Asia Minor, but it is more rare in Syria. Fevers of different kinds are the commonest of all diseases in Syria and all the neighboring countries. The opposite promise to the threat is given in Exodus 15:26; Exodus 23:25.

Leviticus 26:18

For all this - i. e. for all the afflictions in Leviticus 26:16-17.

Seven times - The sabbatical number is here proverbially used to remind the people of the covenant. Compare Genesis 4:15, Genesis 4:24; Psalms 119:164; Proverbs 24:16; Luke 17:4.

Leviticus 26:19, Leviticus 26:20

The second warning is utter sterility of the soil. Compare Deuteronomy 11:17; Deuteronomy 28:18; Ezekiel 33:28; Ezekiel 36:34-35.

Leviticus 26:21, Leviticus 26:22

The third warning is the multiplication of destructive animals, etc. Compare Deuteronomy 32:24; Ezekiel 5:17; Ezekiel 14:15; Judges 5:6-7; Isaiah 33:8.

Leviticus 26:23-26

The fourth warning. Yahweh now places Himself as it were in a hostile position toward His people who “will not be reformed” (rather, brought unto God: Jeremiah 2:30). He will avenge the outraged cause of His covenant, by the sword, pestilence, famine, and captivity.

Leviticus 26:26

Omit “and.” “To break the staff of bread,” was a proverbial expression for cutting off the supply of bread, the staff of life (Psalms 105:16; Ezekiel 4:16; Ezekiel 5:16; Ezekiel 14:13; compare Isaiah 3:1). The supply was to be so reduced that one oven would suffice for baking the bread maple by ten women for ten families, and when made it was to be dealt out in sparing rations by weight. See 2 Kings 6:25; Jeremiah 14:18; Lamentations 4:9; Ezekiel 5:12; Hosea 4:10; Micah 6:14; Haggai 1:6.

Leviticus 26:27-33

The fifth warning. For Leviticus 26:29 see 2 Kings 6:28-29; Jeremiah 19:8-9; Lamentations 2:20; Lamentations 4:10; Ezekiel 5:10, for Leviticus 26:30 see 2 Chronicles 34:3; Ezekiel 6:4; Jeremiah 14:19, for Leviticus 26:31 see 2 Kings 25:9; Psalms 74:6-7 : for Leviticus 26:32-33 see Deuteronomy 28:37; Psalms 44:11; Jeremiah 9:16; Jeremiah 18:16; Ezekiel 5:1-17; Jeremiah 4:7; Ezekiel 9:6; Ezekiel 12:15; Zechariah 7:14.

Leviticus 26:30

High places - There is no doubt that the word here denotes elevated spots dedicated to false worship (see Deuteronomy 12:2), and especially, it would seem, to that of Baal Numbers 22:41; Joshua 13:17. Such spots were, however, employed and approved for the worship of Yahweh, not only before the building of the temple, but afterward (Judges 6:25-26; Judges 13:16-23; 1 Samuel 7:10; 1 Samuel 16:5; 1 Kings 3:2; 1 Kings 18:30; 2 Kings 12:3; 1 Chronicles 21:26, etc.). The three altars built by Abraham at Shechem, between Bethel and Ai, and at Mamre, appear to have been on heights, and so was the temple.

The high places in the holy land may thus have been divided into those dedicated to the worship of Yahweh, and those which had been dedicated to idols. And it would seem as if there was a constant struggle going on. The high places polluted by idol worship were of course to be wholly condemned. They were probably resorted to only to gratify a degraded superstition. See Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:2-5. The others might have been innocently used for prayer and religious teaching. But the temptation appears to have been too great for the temper of the people. They offered sacrifice and burnt incense on them; and hence, thorough reformers of the national religion, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, removed the high places altogether 2 Kings 18:4; 2 Kings 23:5.

Your images - The original word is rendered in the margin of our Bible sun images (2 Chronicles 14:5; Isaiah 17:8; Ezekiel 6:4, etc.). Phoenician inscriptions prove that the word was commonly applied to images of Baal and Astarte, the god of the sun and the goddess of the moon. This exactly explains 2 Chronicles 34:4 following.

Idols - The Hebrew word here literally means things which could be rolled about, such as a block of wood or a lump of dirt. It was no doubt a name given in derision. Compare Isaiah 40:20; Isa 44:19; 2 Kings 1:2.

Leviticus 26:31

Sanctuaries - The holy places in the tabernacle and the temple (Psalms 68:35. Compare Psalms 74:7).

I will not smell the savor ... - See Leviticus 1:9.

Leviticus 26:35

More literally: All the days of its desolation shall it rest that time which it rested not in your Sabbaths while ye dwelt upon it. That is, the periods of rest of which the land had been deprived would be made up to it. Compare 2 Chronicles 36:20-21.

Leviticus 26:38

The land of your enemies shall eat you up - Compare Numbers 13:32; Ezekiel 36:13.

Leviticus 26:39

Iniquity - The meaning here is, in the punishment of their iniquity, and, in the next clause, in the punishment of the iniquity (as in Leviticus 26:41, Leviticus 26:43) of their fathers. In the next verse the same Hebrew word is properly represented by “iniquity.” Our translators have in several places put one of the English words in the text and the other in the margin (Genesis 4:13; Genesis 19:15; 2 Kings 7:9; Psalms 69:27, etc.). The language of Scripture does not make that trenchant division between sin and punishment which we are accustomed to do. Sin is its own punishment, having in itself, from its very commencement, the germ of death. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” James 1:15; Romans 2:5; Romans 5:12.

Leviticus 26:40

trespass - The Hebrew word signifies an injury inflicted on the rights of a person, as distinguished from a sin or iniquity regarded as an outrage of the divine law. Every wrong act is of course both a sin and a trespass against God. In this place Yahweh takes the breach of the covenant as a personal trespass.

Leviticus 26:41

Uncircumcised hearts - The outward sign of the covenant might be preserved, but the answering grace in the heart would be wanting (Acts 7:51; Romans 2:28-29; Jeremiah 6:10; Jeremiah 9:26; compare Colossians 2:11).

Accept of the punishment of their iniquity - literally, enjoy their iniquity. The word here and in Leviticus 26:43 rendered “accept” in this phrase, is the same as is rendered “enjoy” in the expression “the land shall enjoy her sabbaths” Leviticus 26:34. The antithesis in Leviticus 26:43 is this: The land shall enjoy her sabbaths - and they shall enjoy the punishment of their iniquity. The meaning is, that the land being desolate shall have the blessing of rest, and they having repented shall have the blessing of chastisement. The feelings of a devout captive Israelite are beautifully expressed in Tobit 13:1-18.