Leviticus 26:33

Translations

Modern

But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.

Traditional

And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Literal

And I will scatter you among the nations and draw out after you a sword. And your land will be desolate and your cities will become waste.

Latin

Vos autem dispergam in gentes, et evaginabo post vos gladium, eritque terra vestra deserta, et civitates vestræ dirutæ.

Original

Hebrew

English

But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.

Notes

Leviticus 26:14–39

God punishes his people to change their behavior and restore their relationship with him. He acts like a perfectly righteous and loving parent would with a disobedient child. The punishments, meant to stop rebellious behavior, gradually increase. This gives Israel a chance to repent at any time (Leviticus 26:18–28). Even when Israel faced exile from the land in 722 and 586 BC, God was working to restore them (see, for example, Isaiah 40–66; Jeremiah 29:10; Amos 9:11–15).

Leviticus 26:3–39

These blessings and curses are similar to a key part of ancient Near Eastern treaties between a suzerain (a powerful king) and a vassal (a lesser king). In these treaties, the suzerain king promised to protect the vassal king and his land. In return, the vassal swore loyalty to the suzerain.

Blessings and curses followed, with curses usually being longer (compare Leviticus 26:3–13 with 26:14–39; see also Deuteronomy 27:15–28:68). These treaties often called upon gods as witnesses and enforcers. Yet, in God's covenant with Israel, God was one of the treaty parties, with Israel as the other. Since God could not swear by anyone greater, he swore by himself (see Hebrews 6:13; Genesis 22:16).

Theme notes and profiles

Ancient Law Codes Blessing Counsel from Others Curses and Blessings God’s Covenants God’s Judgment of His People Making Sense of the Exile Oppression of God’s People Promised Land Retribution The Dangers of Sin The Land True Success

Related verses

Ezekiel 20:23
However, with an uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.
Deuteronomy 4:27
Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
Zechariah 7:14
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”
Deuteronomy 28:64–66
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
Ezekiel 22:15
I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness.
Psalm 44:11
You have given us up as sheep to be devoured; You have scattered us among the nations.
Jeremiah 9:16
I will scatter them among the nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
Luke 21:24
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Lamentations 4:15
“Go away! Unclean!” men shouted at them. “Away, away! Do not touch us!” So they fled and wandered. Among the nations it was said, “They can stay here no longer.”
Ezekiel 12:14–16
And I will scatter to every wind all the attendants around him and all his troops, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.
Lamentations 1:3
Judah has gone into exile under affliction and harsh slavery; she dwells among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

Leviticus 26:33

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