Leviticus 26 26

Leviticus 26:26 kjv

And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

Leviticus 26:26 nkjv

When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Leviticus 26:26 niv

When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

Leviticus 26:26 esv

When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Leviticus 26:26 nlt

I will destroy your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake bread for their families. They will ration your food by weight, and though you have food to eat, you will not be satisfied.

Leviticus 26 verses

Leviticus 26 26 Meaning

This verse describes a severe and multi-layered judgment from God in response to disobedience: a devastating famine. It outlines that God will "break your supply of bread," which means He will remove the very source and foundation of sustenance. The immediate consequences include an extreme scarcity where ten households' worth of women must share one oven due to a lack of resources, and food will be so scarce it must be meticulously rationed and weighed out in meager portions. Critically, even after consuming these scant amounts, the people will experience no true satisfaction, implying a spiritual and physical curse where food fails to provide nourishment or contentment, leading to persistent hunger and emptiness.

Leviticus 26 26 Context

Leviticus chapter 26 is a crucial section within the Torah, presenting a covenant framework between the LORD and Israel. It details a system of blessings and curses contingent upon Israel's obedience or disobedience to God's commandments. This verse falls specifically within the series of escalating curses (verses 14-39), which God warns will be inflicted upon Israel should they persist in unfaithfulness. The judgment described here – famine, starvation, and deep dissatisfaction – represents a direct withdrawal of divine provision. Historically, this served as a foundational warning to the Israelites about their physical and national well-being being directly tied to their spiritual fidelity, a warning that was profoundly manifested in later periods of their history, such as during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, where starvation reached dire levels. It highlights God's absolute sovereignty over creation and sustenance, affirming that national prosperity or adversity flows from His hand.

Leviticus 26 26 Word analysis

• When I break (וְשָׁבַרְתִּי - v'shavarti): The Hebrew verb shavar means "to shatter, break in pieces." The form indicates a direct, intentional, and decisive action by God Himself. This underscores His active role as the instigator of this judgment, making it a divine curse rather than a mere natural misfortune. It signifies a forceful dismantling of provision.
• your supply of bread (מַטֵּה לֶחֶם - matteh lechem): Literally "staff of bread." Matteh (staff or rod) signifies support or sustenance. Lechem means food, especially bread, a staple. This phrase encapsulates the very backbone or foundation of life's sustenance. Its "breaking" implies the removal of the fundamental means by which life is maintained, leading to profound weakness and collapse. It is a more potent image than simply "supply."
• ten women (עֶשֶׂר נָשִׁים - eser nashim): Eser (ten) nashim (women). Normally, bread baking was a household task, with each family having their own facilities or access to shared community ovens. For ten women (representing possibly ten households or even just a group acting together) to converge on a single oven points to extreme resource scarcity—either of fuel (firewood) or even functioning ovens, indicating a devastating and communal hardship impacting domestic life.
• will bake your bread (אָפוּ לַחְמְכֶם - afu lachmechem): From afa (to bake). Even this basic, life-sustaining activity is affected, requiring shared, inefficient labor due to overwhelming deprivation.
• in one oven (בְּתַנּוּר אֶחָד - b'tannur echad): Tannur refers to a traditional clay oven. The shared use of a single oven signifies the extent of desolation and collective suffering, reflecting a breakdown of normal household autonomy and severe limitations on necessary resources like fuel, underscoring the severity of the famine.
• and they will dole out (וְהֵשִׁיבוּ - v'heshivu): From shuv (to return), in the Hiphil, meaning "to cause to return" or "give back," but in context here implies precise measurement or calculated distribution. This points to extreme rationing and a lack of sufficiency, where every meager morsel must be strictly accounted for.
• your bread by weight (לַחְמְכֶם בְּמִשְׁקָל - lachmechem b'mishqal): Mishqal means "weight" or "balance." The food is so precious and scarce that it cannot be distributed by portion size or volume but must be precisely weighed. This emphasizes the profound destitution and the humiliation of a people reduced to eating meager, weighed rations.
• and you shall eat (וַאֲכַלְתֶּם - va'achaltem): From akhal (to eat). The physical act of consumption occurs, highlighting that sustenance is attempted.
• and not be satisfied (וְלֹא תִשְׂבָּעוּ - v'lo tisba'u): Saba means to be full, satiated, or content. This is a profound curse: despite consuming food, the individuals will remain perpetually hungry and unfulfilled, physically weak, and lacking strength or mental satisfaction. This signifies that God withdraws the very efficacy of the food, denying not only sufficient quantity but also the blessing of true nourishment and contentment.

Word-groups analysis:

• "When I break your supply of bread": This phrase directly attributes the cause of famine to God's intentional, sovereign action. It asserts His ultimate control over sustenance and emphasizes that provision is a divine blessing, the withdrawal of which is a severe judgment, leading to profound national weakness.
• "ten women will bake your bread in one oven": This paints a grim picture of societal collapse and extreme resource scarcity. The forced communalization of baking due to a lack of individual resources (fuel, ovens) highlights widespread deprivation and the disruption of basic daily life, symbolizing collective desperation.
• "and they will dole out your bread by weight": This segment vividly depicts the extent of the famine's impact: food is so incredibly scarce that it must be meticulously rationed into precise, inadequate portions. This practice signifies absolute destitution, loss of dignity, and the profound humiliation experienced by a people begging for every crumb.
• "and you shall eat and not be satisfied": This powerful climax indicates a deeper, spiritual dimension of the curse. Beyond physical hunger, the food loses its power to nourish or content, reflecting a pervasive sense of emptiness and a perpetual longing. It demonstrates that true satisfaction, even from basic sustenance, ultimately comes from God's blessing, which is here conspicuously absent due to covenant unfaithfulness.

Leviticus 26 26 Bonus section

This verse, with its depiction of deep dissatisfaction despite consumption, resonates beyond the physical realm, implicitly teaching that true contentment cannot be found in material things alone. When the foundational blessings of God are withheld, life's very necessities become sources of enduring emptiness, prompting reflection on humanity's intrinsic spiritual hunger that only divine grace can truly satisfy. Furthermore, the extreme detail of shared ovens and weighted food portions serves as a dramatic prophetic blueprint, echoed in later biblical narratives of siege and famine, vividly demonstrating how God executes covenant discipline when His people stray far from His paths.

Leviticus 26 26 Commentary

Leviticus 26:26 provides a stark image of divine judgment, meticulously outlining the economic and physical ramifications of national disobedience. It is not merely a prophecy of natural disaster but a declaration of God's active withdrawal of blessing. The "breaking of the staff of bread" symbolizes the removal of a nation's vital support system, directly from the hand of God. The specific details – ten women sharing one oven and rationing food by weight – highlight an escalating severity of famine, demonstrating the extent of material deprivation, resource scarcity, and communal distress. This isn't just scarcity; it's destitution so extreme that the fundamental domestic practices are utterly dismantled. Most powerfully, the curse extends beyond mere physical hunger to a spiritual state: "you shall eat and not be satisfied." This implies that even what little food is available will offer no true nourishment, no strength, and no inner peace or contentment. It points to a deep spiritual malaise where the very purpose of food is nullified, reminding Israel that true fulfillment and sustenance depend entirely on God's active blessing, which is contingent upon their faithfulness to Him.