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 become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. 28There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor 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

• callעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• to witnessעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• against you todayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
• surelyאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• quicklyמַהֵרmahêr · quicklyH4118
• whereאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• whereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• you are goingעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• the Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
• to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• liveאָרַךְ'ârak · to prolongH748
• on it, but will be utterlyשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:26

• Deuteronomy 30:18I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
• Deuteronomy 31:28Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them.
• Deuteronomy 32:1“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
• Isaiah 1:2Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the Lord speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.
• Jeremiah 2:12Be appalled, O heavens, at this, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 6:19Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
• Jeremiah 22:29O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord!
• Ezekiel 36:4Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become a prey and a derision to the rest of the nations which are round about,
• Micah 1:2Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen, O earth and all it contains, And let the Lord God be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple.
• Micah 6:2Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord, And you enduring foundations of the earth, Because the Lord has a case against His people; Even with Israel He will dispute.
• Deuteronomy 29:28and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’
• Leviticus 18:28so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you.
• Leviticus 26:31I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.
• Joshua 23:16When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”
• Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,
• Isaiah 24:1Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters 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