And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will stumble over one another, as it were before the sword, when no one pursues. You will have no power to stand before your enemies.
- BSB They will stumble over one another as before the sword, though no one is behind them. So you will not be able to stand against your enemies.
- NKJV They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
- NASB They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies.
- NLT Though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other as though fleeing from a sword. You will have no power to stand up against your enemies.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
In their panic the exiles will stumble over one another, powerless before their enemies. Without God's help they cannot stand.
Overview
The fear of the previous verse leads to chaotic collapse, with people falling though none pursues. Their inability to stand before enemies reverses the earlier promise of victory. The scene shows that strength and courage are gifts of God's presence, lost when His people turn from Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Judg 2:14And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
- Josh 7:12–13Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
- Isa 10:4Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
- Num 14:42Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
- Jer 37:10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
- Judg 7:22And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
- 1 Sam 14:15–16And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 26:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.