Bible Strands
Leviticus 26:36
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses the surviving remnant of Israel, declaring that psychological terror will grip them while they dwell in foreign territories after the land completes its sabbatical rest.
The words — The Hebrew מֹ֙רֶךְ֙ (mo.rekh) literally means faintness or despair, and בִּ/לְבָבָ֔/ם (bi/l.va.Va/m) specifies that this dread is placed directly into their inner being.
The thread — This pattern of groundless panic and defeated hearts appears in Ezekiel 21:7, Isaiah 30:17, and Leviticus 26:17, where fleeing without pursuit and melting resolve consistently mark the reversal of human military strength.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that covenant failure reduces survival to a state of constant, unprovoked terror, requiring the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment operates through the complete dismantling of human security.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 21:7 And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Isaiah 30:17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.
- Leviticus 26:17 And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- Deuteronomy 28:65 Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
- Joshua 2:9 and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
- Joshua 5:1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.
- 1 Samuel 17:24 When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.
- 2 Kings 7:6 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- 2 Chronicles 14:14 and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.
- Job 15:21 Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.