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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed.

Context of Deuteronomy 4:26

24For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 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. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or 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 declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
• Deuteronomy 31:28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to testify against them.
• Deuteronomy 32:1Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.
• Isaiah 1:2Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
• Jeremiah 2:12Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 6:19Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.
• Jeremiah 22:29O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!
• Ezekiel 36:4therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you—
• Micah 1:2Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it, that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
• Micah 6:2“Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
• Deuteronomy 29:28In furious anger and in great wrath the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”
• Leviticus 18:28And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
• Leviticus 26:31I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.
• Joshua 23:16If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
• Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,
• Isaiah 24:1See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face 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