Leviticus 26:34 (WEB)

Passage

Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.

Nearby Context

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

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

Leviticus 26:34 Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.

Leviticus 26:35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it didn’t have in your Sabbaths, when you lived on it.

Leviticus 26:36 “‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword. They will fall when no one pursues.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "land", "enjoy", "sabbaths", "long", "lies", "desolate", and "enemies". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "land" and "enjoy", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "I will scatter you among the nations..." into verse 35's "As long as it lies desolate it...", so "land" and "enjoy" 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 "land" and "enjoy" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.