Deuteronomy 4:26

Deuteronomy 4:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
• New International Version (NIV)I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.

Context of Deuteronomy 4:26

24For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25“When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, angering him, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell.

Deuteronomy 4:26 word by word

הַעִידֹתִי֩ בָכֶ֨ם הַיּ֜וֹם אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ כִּֽי־אָבֹ֣ד תֹּאבֵדוּן֮ מַהֵר֒ מֵעַ֣ל הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתֶּ֜ם עֹבְרִ֧ים אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ן שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּ֑הּ לֹֽא־תַאֲרִיכֻ֤ן יָמִים֙ עָלֶ֔יהָ כִּ֥י הִשָּׁמֵ֖ד תִּשָּׁמֵדֽוּן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I callעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• to witnessעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• against you this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
• that ye shall soonמַהֵרmahêr · quicklyH4118
• utterlyאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• whereunto ye go overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
• to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• it; ye shall not prolongאָרַךְ'ârak · to prolongH748
• upon it, but shall utterlyשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:26

• Deuteronomy 30:18I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan.
• Deuteronomy 31:28Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.
• Deuteronomy 32:1Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak; listen, earth, to the words from my mouth.
• Isaiah 1:2Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, for the Lord has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
• Jeremiah 2:12Be appalled at this, heavens; be shocked and utterly desolated! This is the Lord’s declaration.
• Jeremiah 6:19Listen, earth! I am about to bring disaster on these people, the fruit of their own plotting, for they have paid no attention to my words. They have rejected my instruction.
• Jeremiah 22:29Earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord!
• Ezekiel 36:4therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.
• Micah 1:2Listen, all you peoples; pay attention, earth and everyone in it! The Lord God will be a witness against you, the Lord, from his holy temple.
• Micah 6:2Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth, because the Lord has a case against his people, and he will argue it against Israel.
• Deuteronomy 29:28The Lord uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.’
• Leviticus 18:28If you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you.
• Leviticus 26:31I will reduce your cities to ruins and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.
• Joshua 23:16If you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow in worship to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land he has given you.”
• Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” And he replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate,
• Isaiah 24:1Look, the Lord is stripping the earth bare and making it desolate. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26I call heaven and earth to witness against you - A most solemn method of adjuration, in use among all nations in the world. So Virgil, Aen., lib. xii., ver. 176, etc. Tum pius Aeneas stricto sic ense precatur: Esto nunc Sol testis et haec mihi terra vocanti - Fontesque fluviosque voco, quaeque aetheris alti Relllgio, et quae caeruleo sunt numina ponto, etc. "Then the great Trojan prince unsheathed his sword, And thus, with lifted hands, the gods adored…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25-28Verses 25-28 Compare with these verses Leviticus 26:33-40, and Deuteronomy 28:64 ff.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-40Verses 24-40 Moses urged the greatness, glory, and goodness of God. Did we consider what a God he is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to him, and not dare to sin against him. Shall we forsake a merciful God, who will never forsake us, if we are faithful unto him? Whither can we go? Let us be held to our duty by the bonds of love, and prevailed with by the mercies of God to cleave to him. Moses urged God's authority…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26Heaven and earth would testify against Israel if the people were unfaithful to the Lord. In a covenant partnership, both parties were accountable for their promises of loyalty and commitment. They promised in front of witnesses (Isaiah 1:2–7; Micah 6:1–8). In Deuteronomy, nature serves as that witness (see also Deuteronomy 30:19).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. I call heaven and earth to witness against you--This solemn form of adjuration has been common in special circumstances among all people. It is used here figuratively, or as in other parts of Scripture where inanimate objects are called up as witnesses (De 32:1; Is 1:2).Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:26

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Backsliders
• Idolatry
• Minister, Christian
• Obedience

In the dictionaries

• Jordan
• Jordan River, Jordan
• Add
• Consider
• Consuming
• Diminish
• Furnace
• Hearken
• Deuteronomy
• Pentateuch

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings