Leviticus 26:25

Summary

Leviticus 26:25 describes a sequence of punishments: a sword will come to avenge the breaking of the covenant, the people will retreat into their cities, a pestilence will strike them there, and they will be handed over to an enemy. The verse forms part of a chain of consequences using consecutive perfect verbs.

Key words

• Che.rev ("a sword", H2719) — feminine singular noun, the instrument of punishment sent by God.
• no.Ke.met ("[which will] avenge", H5358) — qal participle feminine singular, agreeing with Che.rev; describes the sword as an ongoing agent of vengeance rather than a one-time act.
• ne.kam- ("vengeance of", H5359) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking to be.Rit to form "vengeance of a covenant."
• be.Rit ("a covenant", H1285) — feminine singular noun, the object of the vengeance described.
• ne.'e.saf.Tem ("you will gather", H0622) — niphal (passive/reflexive) sequential perfect, second person plural; the people are gathered/retreat into cities as a reaction to the sword.
• nit.ta.Tem ("you will be given", H5414) — niphal sequential perfect; passive construction showing the people as recipients of the action, "given" into the hand of an enemy.

What the text says

The verse is built as a chain of four sequential perfect verbs (he.ve.Ti, ne.'e.saf.Tem, shi.Lach.ti, nit.ta.Tem), each continuing the narrative begun earlier in the chapter with "and." This grammatical structure presents the events as a connected sequence of cause and effect: bringing the sword leads to gathering into cities, which leads to sending pestilence, which leads to being given into an enemy's hand.

The phrase Che.rev no.Ke.met ne.kam-be.Rit ("a sword avenging vengeance of a covenant") uses a participle (no.Ke.met) modifying "sword," followed by a construct chain (ne.kam-be.Rit, "vengeance of a covenant"). This construction personifies the sword as the one who executes vengeance for the covenant's terms, rather than presenting vengeance and sword as separate concepts.

The two niphal verbs (ne.'e.saf.Tem and nit.ta.Tem) both carry passive or reflexive nuances. ne.'e.saf.Tem can indicate an action the subject does to itself (gathering/retreating) or that happens to it, while nit.ta.Tem is clearly passive: the people do not act but are acted upon ("you will be given"), matching the parallel passive sense of being delivered into a hand (yad, H3027) belonging to an enemy ('o.Yev, H0341), itself grammatically a qal participle, "the one who shows hostility."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Che.rev ("sword") as machairan ("sword/dagger") and translates no.Ke.met ("avenging") with ekdikousan, keeping the participial sense. The Vulgate uses gladium ultorem ("avenging sword"), also preserving the participial nuance found in the Hebrew.

For ne.'e.saf.Tem ("you will gather"), the LXX has katapheuxesthe ("you will flee for refuge"), and the Vulgate has confugeritis ("you will flee"), both emphasizing flight rather than the more neutral "gathering" sense present in the Hebrew niphal form.

The SBLIBRE translation renders Che.rev not as a single sword but as "ejércitos enemigos" ("enemy armies"), an interpretive expansion not directly present in the Hebrew noun Che.rev, which is singular and feminine, denoting one sword.