Leviticus 26:8

8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

Leviticus 26:8 in Other Translations

KJV
8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
ESV
8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
NLT
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword.
MSG
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and do away with them.
CSB
8 Five of you will pursue 100, and 100 of you will pursue 10,000; your enemies will fall before you by the sword.

Leviticus 26:8 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 26:8

And five of you shall chase an hundred
One man chase twenty; and an hundred of you put ten thousand to flight;
which, had it been in proportion to the other number, should have been two thousand, as in ( Deuteronomy 32:30 ) ; where there is a proportion observed; and Abendana observes, there are some that give the sense of it thus, an hundred of you, an hundred times five, that is, five hundred, and so it comes up to a right computation; but here it seems to be a certain number for an uncertain, and only a proverbial expression, signifying that a very few, under the blessing of divine Providence, should get the advantage over a large number, and oblige them to retire, and pursue them closely: instances we have of large bodies of the enemy being defeated by a small number of Israelites, ( Judges 7:21 Judges 7:22 ) ; and even many by a single person or two, ( 1 Samuel 14:13 1 Samuel 14:14 ) ( 2 Samuel 23:8-16 ) ; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword;
(See Gill on Leviticus 26:7).

Leviticus 26:8 In-Context

6 “ ‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.
7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
9 “ ‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.
10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 30:17
  • 2. Deuteronomy 28:7; Deuteronomy 32:30; Joshua 23:10; Judges 15:15; 1 Chronicles 12:14
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