And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.

LEVITICUS 26:44KJV
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Leviticus 26:44 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 26:44 mean?

Leviticus 26:44 says that God will not bring his relationship with Israel to an end, even when the people are living in an enemy’s land. Their presence there follows the severe consequences described earlier in the passage, but God says those consequences will not amount to their complete destruction or the breaking of his covenant.

God is the speaker, addressing the people of Israel. The phrase “land of their enemies” pictures Israelites living away from their own land, under the power of hostile peoples. The final words, “I am the LORD their God,” give the reason for God’s promise.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 26:44

  • “cast them away” — מָאַס (maʾas): This word can mean to reject or refuse. Here, it describes God’s refusal to reject the people completely while they are in a foreign land.
  • “covenant” — בְּרִית (berit): This word means a binding agreement or pledge. In this verse, it refers to the established bond between God and Israel, which God says he will not break.
  • “LORD” — יהוה (YHWH): This is God’s personal name in Hebrew, represented by “LORD” in the KJV. Its use identifies the speaker as the God who made the covenant with Israel.

Why Leviticus 26:44 matters

  • The verse sets a limit on the punishment described in the passage. God says he will not “destroy them utterly,” even though verse 33 has described the people being scattered among other nations.
  • The promise concerns the people as a whole, not a claim that no individual will suffer. Earlier in the chapter, verse 38 says that some will perish among the nations.
  • The words “for I am the LORD their God” connect the promise to God’s identity. The reason given rests on who God is in relation to Israel, rather than on a change in their circumstances.

Where else these words appear

“abhor” Hebrew H1602 · used in 9 verses

  • Leviticus 26:11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
  • Leviticus 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
  • Job 21:10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.

“yet” Hebrew H637 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
  • Deuteronomy 33:20 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
  • 1 Chronicles 8:32 And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them.

“be” Hebrew H1571 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
  • 1 Samuel 12:16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.
  • Job 12:3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

“that” Hebrew H2063 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
  • Leviticus 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
  • 1 Kings 3:23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.