Leviticus 26:38 (DRB)

Passage

You shall perish among the Gentiles: and an enemy's land shall consume you.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 26:36 And as to them that shall remain of you I will send fear in their hearts in the countries of their enemies. The sound of a flying leaf shall terrify them: and they shall flee as it were from the sword. They shall fall, when no man pursueth them.

Leviticus 26:37 And they shall every one fall upon their brethren as fleeing from wars: none of you shall dare to resist your enemies.

Leviticus 26:38 You shall perish among the Gentiles: and an enemy's land shall consume you.

Leviticus 26:39 And if of them also some remain, they shall pine away in their iniquities, in the land of their enemies: and they shall be afflicted for the sins of their fathers, and their own.

Leviticus 26:40 Until they confess their iniquities, and the iniquities of their ancestors, whereby they have transgressed against me, and walked contrary unto me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "perish", "gentiles", "enemy's", "land", and "consume". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "perish", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "And they shall every one fall upon..." into verse 39's "And if of them also some remain...", so "shall" and "perish" 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 "shall" and "perish" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.