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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- 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 2:14Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.
- Josh 7:12–13Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
- Isa 10:4They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
- Num 14:42Don’t go up, for Yahweh isn’t among you; that you not be struck down before your enemies.
- Jer 37:10For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes they would each rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’”
- Judg 7:22They blew the three hundred trumpets, and Yahweh set every man’s sword against his fellow, and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
- 1 Sam 14:15–16There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the raiders, also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an exceedingly 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.