Chapter 26

More commands, promises and punishments

v1 You must not make *idols for yourselves in the land (the country called *Canaan). You must not make an image (of a false god) or a column that you *worship. You must not get down onto your knees in front of a stone with a special shape. (Remember), I am the *LORD your God. v2 Always remember (to rest and to *worship me on) my *Sabbath days. Give honour to my house. I am the *LORD. v3 Do the things that I have told you to do. Obey all my commands. v4 Then I will send you rain in its (proper) season. The ground will give you its crops and the trees in the fields (will give you) their fruits. v5 You will beat the corn, in order to clean it, until you gather the *grapes. You will gather *grapes until it is time to plant (seeds). So you will have plenty of food to eat and you will live safely in your land. v6 I will give you peace in your land. Then you will lie down and you will not be afraid. I will remove wild animals from your land. (People with) swords will not come into your land. v7 You will chase your enemies and you will kill them with (your) *swords. v8 Five (5) of you will chase a hundred (100) men. A hundred (100) of you will chase ten thousand (10 000) men. You will kill your enemies with (your) *swords. v9 Then I will be kind to you and you will have many children. I will increase the numbers of your people. I will do what I have promised to do for you. v10 You will have enough food from your crops to last for a whole year. When you gather the new harvest, you will have to throw the old harvest away! v11 I will put my house among you and I will not hate you. v12 I will walk round among you. I will be your God and you will be my people. v13 I am the *LORD (who is) your God. I brought you out of (the country called) Egypt. So, you are not now the *Egyptians slaves. It was as if I broke the wooden bars from your shoulders. And so now you can stand up straight.

v14 But if you do not obey me, (I will punish you). Also, you must do all that I order you to do. v15 But perhaps you will hate my laws and rules and you will neglect to obey all my commands. (If you do such things) you will be opposing my *covenant.

v16 This is how I will punish you. Suddenly, I will send terror to you. This will include bad diseases. Peoples bodies will become too hot. Your eyes will not be able to see well. You will not want to eat your food. You will not harvest any crops after you sow your seeds. Your enemies will eat them. v17 My face will be against you, so that your enemies will defeat you. People who hate you will rule over you. You will run away, even if nobody chases you. v18 If after all this, you still do not obey me, you will suffer my punishment. (I will punish you) 7 times for your *sins. v19 I will destroy your proud attitude. The sky will be like iron for you and the ground (will be) like metal. v20 You will use your strength but you will get nothing for it. The land will not give (you) its crops. The trees on the land will not give (you) their fruits. v21 If you continue to be against me, I will send you (more) trouble. If you do not obey me, (your trouble will be) 7 times greater because of your *sins. v22 I will send wild animals that are loose against you. They will rob your children from you. They will kill your cows. They will make you very few in number. Your roads will be empty (because nobody will go on them). v23 If after all these things, you will not accept my discipline (then I will continue to punish you). If you continue to fight against me, v24 then even I (your God) will fight against you. I, even I, will hit you hard 7 times for your *sins. v25 I will bring (people with) *swords against you to satisfy my anger. This is the anger that my *covenant (with you contains). When you gather in your cities, I will send a bad disease among you. Also, your enemies will overcome you. v26 I will stop your supply of bread. Then 10 women will bake your bread in one oven. They will distribute your bread by weight. You will eat, but (the food) will not satisfy you. v27 If after all this, you still will not obey me (then more bad things will happen). If you continue to fight against me, v28 I will fight against you in an angry manner. You will suffer my punishment for your *sins 7 times. v29 You will eat the bodies of your sons and you will eat the bodies of your daughters. v30 I will destroy your high places (where you *worship false gods). I will ruin the *altars where you burn *incense. I will make a pile of your dead bodies on the dead images of your *idols. I myself will hate you. v31 I will ruin your cities. I will make empty the places where you *worship (me). I will not find any delight in the pleasant smells when you burn things for me. v32 I will make your land empty. When your enemies come to live in it, the state of it will give them a shock.

v33 I will chase you away with my *sword and I will scatter you among the nations. Your land will be empty and I will have destroyed your cities. v34 Then the land will enjoy its *Sabbath Years during all the time that it is empty. You will be in the country of your enemies, so your land will rest. And then it will enjoy its *Sabbath Years. v35 All the time that it is empty, (your land) will have rest. It did not have this rest during the *Sabbath Years when you worked on it. v36 Some of you will remain alive, but I will take away their courage in the country of their enemies. The sound of a leaf that blows (in the wind) will chase them away! They will run away as if (someone with) a *sword chased them. They will fall down although nobody is chasing them. v37 They will fall over each other, as if they were running away from a (man with a) *sword. (They will do this) although nobody is chasing them. You will not be able to stand up in front of your enemies. v38 You will die among the nations. Your enemies country will eat you. (In other words, you will die there.) v39 Those among you who remain alive will die in your enemies countries. (This will be) because of their own *sins. They will also die because of their fathers *sins, which I will add to theirs. v40 But (my people) may confess their *sins and the *sins of their fathers. Their *sins are the bad things that they did against me. Really, they fought against me. v41 But by then I will have fought against them. I will have brought them into the country of their enemies. Their hearts will be like the hearts of people who do not belong to me. But they may make their hearts humble and they may do the right things. v42 Then I will remember my promises to Jacob. I will remember my promises to Isaac. I will remember my promises to Abraham. Also I will remember the land. v43 But the land will be without (its people). It will enjoy its *Sabbaths while it is empty without them. The people did not like my rules and they hated my laws. But they will pay for their *sins (when the land rests). v44 Although they have done all this, I will not hate them so much as to destroy their (families) completely. When they are in the country of their enemies, I will not destroy my promises to them. I will not hate them that much. I am the *LORD (who is) their God. v45 I will remember my promises because (I love my people). I made those promises to their families when I brought them out of (the country called) Egypt. All the nations saw (what I did. I did it) to be their God. I am the *LORD. v46 These are the rules, laws and commands that the *LORD established between himself and (his people) the *Israelites. He did it at the mountain called Sinai through Moses.