Leviticus 26:25
in Leviticus 26And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
KJV
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
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This verse in Leviticus 26
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe quarrel of my covenant - That is, my quarrel with you for your breach of your covenant made with me.
This site's exposition
And I will bring a sword upon you
on Leviticus 26:25-26
The sword avenges the quarrel of the covenant, so the war is legal action taken on a broken agreement. The cities that gather people behind walls for safety become the place the pestilence finds them. Ten women baking in one oven is scarcity described from the kitchen, fuel enough for a single fire and bread handed back by weight.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
"I will walk at all adventures with you," so some read; "all covenant loving-kindness shall be forgotten, and I will leave you to common providence." Note, Those that cast off God deserve that he should cast them off. (3.) As they continued obstinate, the judgments should increase yet more upon them.
) to meet them, when they are gathered together in their cities for fear of the sword. The greater the concourse of people is, the greater desolation does the pestilence make; and, when it gets among the soldiers that should defend a place, it is of most fatal consequence. [2.] Famine and scarcity of bread, which should be brought upon them several ways; as, First, By plunder (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Note, God has a just quarrel with those that break covenant with him, for he will not be mocked by the treachery of perfidious men; and one way or other he will avenge this quarrel upon those that play at fast and loose with him. [4.] Wild beasts, lions, bears, and wolves, which should increase upon them, and tear in pieces all that come in their way (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And I will bring a sword upon you,....
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֵבֵאתִ֨י | veheveti | and I will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֜ם | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חֶ֗רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| נֹקֶ֙מֶת֙ | nokemet | [which will] avenge | H5358 → | |
| נְקַם־ | nekam- | vengeance of | H5359 → | |
| בְּרִ֔ית | berit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וְנֶאֱסַפְתֶּ֖ם | veneesaftem | and you will gather | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עָרֵיכֶ֑ם | ʾareikhem | cities your | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְשִׁלַּ֤חְתִּי | veshilachti | and I will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| דֶ֙בֶר֙ | dever | a pestilence | H1698 → | |
| בְּת֣וֹכְכֶ֔ם | betokhem | in midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
| וְנִתַּתֶּ֖ם | venittatem | and you will be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אוֹיֵֽב׃ | ʾoyev | an enemy | H341 → | 282 times |
וְהֵבֵאתִ֨יand I will bring
vehevetiH935 →2568 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֜םon you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
חֶ֗רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
נֹקֶ֙מֶת֙[which will] avenge
nokemetH5358 →
נְקַם־vengeance of
nekam-H5359 →
בְּרִ֔יתa covenant
beritH1285 →284 times
וְנֶאֱסַפְתֶּ֖םand you will gather
veneesaftemH622 →200 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עָרֵיכֶ֑םcities your
ʾareikhemH5892 →1090 times
וְשִׁלַּ֤חְתִּיand I will send
veshilachtiH7971 →845 times
דֶ֙בֶר֙a pestilence
deverH1698 →
בְּת֣וֹכְכֶ֔םin midst of you
betokhemH8432 →418 times
וְנִתַּתֶּ֖םand you will be given
venittatemH5414 →2011 times
בְּיַד־in [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
אוֹיֵֽב׃an enemy
ʾoyevH341 →282 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
Numbers 14:12I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.”
it leads to
- Exodus 32:10
Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
- Exodus 32:10
Through
Ezekiel 20:37I will make you pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 33:13
In the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev, in the land of Benjamin and the cities surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under…
- Leviticus 27:32
Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the LORD.
- Matthew 25:32–33
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
- Ezekiel 16:59–60
For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
- Jeremiah 33:13
Through
Ezekiel 5:17I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 38:22
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
- Ezekiel 38:22
Through
Deuteronomy 28:21The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 24:10
And I will send against them sword and famine and plague, until they have perished from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’”
- Jeremiah 24:10
Through
Ezekiel 29:8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 14:17
Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
- Ezekiel 14:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
