New Living Translation
Deuteronomy 4:26
26“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.
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
24The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God. 25“In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and will arouse his anger. “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. 27For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. 28There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 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 30:18then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
- Deuteronomy 31:28“Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
- Deuteronomy 32:1“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
- Isaiah 1:2Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.
- Jeremiah 2:12The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 6:19Listen, all the earth! I will bring disaster on my people. It is the fruit of their own schemes, because they refuse to listen to me. They have rejected my word.
- Jeremiah 22:29O earth, earth, earth! Listen to this message from the Lord!
- Ezekiel 36:4Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations.
- Micah 1:2Attention! Let all the people of the world listen! Let the earth and everything in it hear. The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you; the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
- Micah 6:2And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint! He has a case against his people. He will bring charges against Israel.
- Deuteronomy 29:28In great anger and fury the Lord uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!’
- Leviticus 18:28So do not defile the land and give it a reason to vomit you out, as it will vomit out the people who live there now.
- Leviticus 26:31I will make your cities desolate and destroy your places of pagan worship. I will take no pleasure in your offerings that should be a pleasing aroma to me.
- Joshua 23:16If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”
- Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?” And he replied, “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland;
- Isaiah 24:1Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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