Leviticus 26:38 (GNV)

Passage

And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eate you vp.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 26:36 And vpon them that are left of you, I will send euen a faintnes into their hearts in ye land of their enemies, and the sounde of a leafeshaken shall chase them, and they shall flee as fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall, no man pursuing them.

Leviticus 26:37 They shall fall also one vpon another, as before a sword, though none pursue them, and ye shall not be able to stand before your enemies:

Leviticus 26:38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eate you vp.

Leviticus 26:39 And they that are left of you, shall pine away for their iniquitie, in your enemies landes, and for the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them also.

Leviticus 26:40 Then they shall confesse their iniquitie, and the wickednes of their fathers for their trespasse, which they haue trespassed against mee, and also because they haue walked stubburnly against me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "perish", "heathen", "land", "enemies", and "eate". 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 "They shall fall also one vpon another..." into verse 39's "And they that are left of you...", 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.