Leviticus 26:17 (DBY)

Passage

And I will set my face against you, that ye may be routed before your enemies; they that hate you shall have dominion over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 26:15 and if ye shall despise my statutes, and if your soul shall abhor mine ordinances, so that ye do not all my commandments, that ye break my covenant,

Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and fever, which shall cause the eyes to fail, and the soul to waste away; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Leviticus 26:17 And I will set my face against you, that ye may be routed before your enemies; they that hate you shall have dominion over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Leviticus 26:18 And if for this ye hearken not unto me, I will punish you sevenfold more for your sins,

Leviticus 26:19 and I will break the arrogance of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as bronze,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "face", "against", "routed", "before", "enemies", "hate", "shall", and "dominion". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "face" and "against", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "I also will do this unto you..." into verse 18's "And if for this ye hearken not...", so "face" and "against" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "face" and "against" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.