Leviticus 26:33 (KJV)

Passage

And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

Leviticus 26:32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

Leviticus 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Leviticus 26:34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

Leviticus 26:35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "scatter", "heathen", "draw", "sword", "after", "land", "shall", and "desolate". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "scatter" and "heathen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 32's "And I will bring the land into..." into verse 34's "Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths...", so "scatter" and "heathen" 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 "scatter" and "heathen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.