Leviticus 26:38

38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.

Leviticus 26:38 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 26:38

And ye shall perish among the Heathen
Not utterly, but great numbers of them, through change of air, and different diet, as Aben Ezra, and through the cruel usage of their enemies; for there is a body of them which continues unto this day; unless this is to be understood of the ten tribes, as R. Akiba F2 interprets it, who are supposed to be entirely lost and swallowed up among the nations where they were carried captive:

and the land of your enemies shall eat you up;
they should die in it through one disease or another; by the pestilence, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so be buried in it; in which sense it may be said to eat them up, or consume them, for the grave swallows up and consumes all that are put into it; Jarchi says, this is to be understood of those that die in captivity.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 In Torat Cohanim, ut supra. (par. 1. fol. 197. 2.)

Leviticus 26:38 In-Context

36 "I will put anxiety in the hearts of those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a wind-driven leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as one flees from a sword, and fall though no one is pursuing [them].
37 They will stumble over one another as if [fleeing] from a sword though no one is pursuing [them]. You will not be able to stand against your enemies.
38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.
39 Those who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away because of their sin; they will also waste away because of their fathers' sins along with theirs.
40 "But if they will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers-their unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, and how they acted with hostility toward Me,
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.