Leviticus 26:17
in Leviticus 26And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies: they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
KJV
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If, however, you fail to obey Me
on Leviticus 26:14-17
The curses run more than twice the length of the blessings, twenty-six verses against eleven. Verse 15 traces the failure inward before anything happens outside, from despising statutes, to a soul that abhors judgments, to a broken covenant. The first round strikes the body, the harvest and the nerve together, and it ends at verse 17 with men fleeing when no one pursues, which verse 36 takes up again.
This site's exposition
I will set My face against you
Verse 9 had God turn toward His people. Here He sets His face against them, and defeat, rule by those who hate them and flight with no pursuer undo the victories of verses 7 and 8.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that is, "I will set myself against you, set myself to ruin you." These proud sinners God will resist, and face those down that confront his authority. Or the face is put for the anger: "I will show myself highly displeased at you." (2.) I will walk contrary to you (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Your choice men shall die in battle, and those that hate you shall reign over you, and justly, since you are not willing that the God that loved you should reign over you;" 2 Chron. xii. Miserable is that people whose enemies are their rulers and have got dominion over them, or whose rulers have become their enemies and under-hand seek the ruin of their interests.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And I will set my face against you,....
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֤י | venatati | and I will set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| פָנַי֙ | fanai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בָּכֶ֔ם | bakhem | on <the> you | ||
| וְנִגַּפְתֶּ֖ם | venigaftem | and you will be defeated | H5062 → | |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֹיְבֵיכֶ֑ם | ʾoyeveikhem | enemies your | H341 → | 282 times |
| וְרָד֤וּ | veradu | and they will rule | H7287 → | 26 times |
| בָכֶם֙ | vakhem | over <the> you | ||
| שֹֽׂנְאֵיכֶ֔ם | soneeikhem | [those who] hate you | H8130 → | |
| וְנַסְתֶּ֖ם | venastem | and you will flee | H5127 → | |
| וְאֵין־ | veein- | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| רֹדֵ֥ף | rodef | [is one who] pursues | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אֶתְכֶֽם׃ ס | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
וְנָתַתִּ֤יand I will set
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
פָנַי֙face my
fanaiH6440 →2123 times
בָּכֶ֔םon <the> you
bakhem
וְנִגַּפְתֶּ֖םand you will be defeated
venigaftemH5062 →
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
אֹיְבֵיכֶ֑םenemies your
ʾoyeveikhemH341 →282 times
וְרָד֤וּand they will rule
veraduH7287 →26 times
בָכֶם֙over <the> you
vakhem
שֹֽׂנְאֵיכֶ֔ם[those who] hate you
soneeikhemH8130 →
וְנַסְתֶּ֖םand you will flee
venastemH5127 →
וְאֵין־and there not
veein-H369 →789 times
רֹדֵ֥ף[is one who] pursues
rodefH7291 →143 times
אֶתְכֶֽם׃ ס<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 53:5
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Psalms 27:1–2
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Psalms 112:7
He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 28:7
Through
Leviticus 17:10If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement…
- Deuteronomy 12:23
Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
- Leviticus 17:11
Through
Psalms 53:5There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Proverbs 28:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.