Leviticus 26:9
I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
God's promise to "turn to you" isn't just a vague good feeling; it's an active turning from other things and a deliberate turning toward His people. This shows that His faithfulness isn't passive but a direct response, a powerful affirmation of His commitment to them. It’s in this active regard that the covenant is confirmed and life overflows.
God is outlining the incredible blessings that will flow if the Israelites remain faithful to Him and His commands. Following promises of abundant harvests, peace, and victory over enemies, this verse emphasizes God's gracious turning toward them, making them multiply, and solidifying His covenant relationship. This sets the stage for the ultimate promise: God's personal presence dwelling among them.
What does it mean for God to 'turn to you'? It's more than just not being angry. It's an active, life-giving engagement.
The phrase 'I will turn to you' (or 'have respect unto you') signifies God's intentional, positive engagement with His people. It's not merely a passive waiting for them to meet a perfect standard, but an active choice to bless and favor them. This is especially important because the preceding verses detail conditions for blessings. God's turning is the source of their ability to meet those conditions and the foundation of the blessings themselves.
This divine initiative makes obedience possible and fruitful. It's the assurance that God is on their side, actively working for their good, preparing the way for the promises that follow.
God doesn't just promise blessings; He promises to confirm His covenant. What does this mean for the ongoing relationship?
The phrase 'establish my covenant with you' points to God actively making His promises real and binding. In the context of Leviticus 26, this means God will perform what He pledged to Abraham and his descendants: fruitfulness, multiplication, and security.
This isn't a one-time event but a cyclical process. As God turns to His people and blesses them, their obedience is strengthened, which in turn leads to further covenant blessings. It's a dynamic relationship where God's faithfulness empowers Israel's faithfulness, reinforcing their special relationship and the blessings that flow from it.
Understand the original words
berith · Hebrew Noun
A formal, binding agreement between God and His people, characterized by God’s promises of faithfulness and the people's responsibility to obey His commands. It is the framework through which God interacts with Israel.
This verse echoes the foundational blessing given to humanity to be fruitful and multiply, showing how God's covenant faithfulness in Leviticus extends this original mandate.
Jeremiah 31:31-34While Leviticus speaks of establishing the existing covenant, Jeremiah prophesies a new covenant, highlighting the continuity and evolution of God's relationship with His people, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Psalm 23:6This psalm expresses a hope for dwelling in God's house forever, connecting the temporal blessings of Leviticus 26:9 to the eternal security found in God's presence.
Ezekiel 37:26-27Ezekiel foretells a future covenant of peace and the permanent dwelling of God's sanctuary among His people, a direct spiritual fulfillment of the promises made in Leviticus 26.
calvinLeviticus 26:3-13: "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;"
- If ye walk in my statutes. We have now to deal with two remarkable passages, in which he professedly treats of the rewards which the servants of God may expect, and of the punishments which await the transgressors. I have indeed already observed, that whatever God promises us on the condition of our walking in His commandments would be ineffectual if He should be extreme in examining our works. Hence it ar…
pooleLeviticus 26:9: "For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you."
i.e. Actually perform all that I have promised you in my covenant made with you,
God's promise to "turn to you" isn't just a vague good feeling; it's an active turning from other things and a deliberate turning toward His people. This shows that His faithfulness isn't passive but a direct response, a powerful affirmation of His commitment to them. It’s in this active regard that the covenant is confirmed and life overflows.
God is outlining the incredible blessings that will flow if the Israelites remain faithful to Him and His commands. Following promises of abundant harvests, peace, and victory over enemies, this verse emphasizes God's gracious turning toward them, making them multiply, and solidifying His covenant relationship. This sets the stage for the ultimate promise: God's personal presence dwelling among them.
God is outlining the incredible blessings that will flow if the Israelites remain faithful to Him and His commands. Following promises of abundant harvests, peace, and victory over enemies, this verse emphasizes God's gracious turning toward them, making them multiply, and solidifying His covenant relationship. This sets the stage for the ultimate promise: God's personal presence dwelling among them.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Leviticus 26:9 is available in the Sola app.
"I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you." — God's promise to "turn to you" isn't just a vague good feeling; it's an active turning from other things and a deliberate turning toward His people. This shows that His faithfulness isn't passive…
