You shall chase your enemies: that is, “You will be victorious over your enemies,” or “win a remarkable victory,” or “defeat the enemy convincingly.”

They shall fall before you by the sword: this is merely another image of victory in battle. However the focus here seems to be more on the death of the enemy. As in verse 6, the word sword is intended in the broader sense of offensive military activity. The phrase may be rendered “you will kill many of your enemies in war” or “your enemies will die in battle in your presence.” It is probably better not to shorten and combine the two expressions of this verse into a single statement, as has been done in Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .