Leviticus 26:17
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Study Note
Study Note
'And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you' — the covenant curse of enemies ruling over Israel and of panic flight without actual pursuit presents divine judgment operating through psychological as well as military consequences. The 'face against' formula (panay bakem) is the precise inverse of the Aaronic blessing's 'face toward' (Numbers 6:25–26), using the same priestly language to describe covenant curse as the absence of the blessing. The paradox of flight from a non-existent pursuer appears in Proverbs 28:1 ('the wicked flee when no man pursueth') and models the guilt-driven anxiety that is itself one of sin's consequences.
Other Translations
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies: they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
and I have set My face against you, and ye have been smitten before your enemies; and those hating you have ruled over you, and ye have fled, and there is none pursuing you.
And my face will be turned from you, and you will be broken before those who are against you, and your haters will become your rulers, and you will go in flight when no man comes after you.
Cross References
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth …
Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all …
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, …
And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands …
And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have …
The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and …
And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that …
And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a …
Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain …
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, …