Bible Strands
Leviticus 26:37
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses the Israelites through Moses at Sinai, outlining the covenant curses that will activate upon their disobedience.
The words — The Hebrew כָּשְׁלוּ (kha.shelu) means "they will stumble," paired with אִישׁ לְ/אָחִיו (ish le'achiv) "each over his brother," describing a chaotic retreat where panic replaces organized combat.
The thread — This pattern of disorganized flight and defeat runs through Joshua 7:12, Judges 2:14, and Numbers 14:42, where divine withdrawal leaves the nation unable to stand against opposing forces.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that covenant failure removes divine protection, leaving the community vulnerable to internal panic and external conquest.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Joshua 7:12 This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
- Judges 2:14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
- Numbers 14:42 Do not go up, lest you be struck down by your enemies, because the LORD is not among you.
- Judges 7:22 And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
- 1 Samuel 14:15 Then panic struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked, and panic spread from God.
- Isaiah 10:4 Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Jeremiah 37:10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”