Revised Literal Translation
Deuteronomy 4:26
26I 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.
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 Yhwh thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. 25When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of Yhwh thy God, to provoke him to anger: 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. 27And Yhwh shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither Yhwh shall lead you. 28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which 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
- 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 denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
- Deuteronomy 31:28Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
- Deuteronomy 32:1Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Isaiah 1:2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for Yhwh hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
- Jeremiah 2:12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Yhwh.
- Jeremiah 6:19Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
- Jeremiah 22:29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Yhwh.
- Ezekiel 36:4Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yhwh; Thus saith the Lord Yhwh to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
- Micah 1:2Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord Yhwh be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
- Micah 6:2Hear ye, O mountains, Yhwh's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for Yhwh hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
- Deuteronomy 29:28And Yhwh rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
- Leviticus 18:28That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
- Leviticus 26:31And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
- Joshua 23:16When ye have transgressed the covenant of Yhwh your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of Yhwh be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.
- Isaiah 6:11Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
- Isaiah 24:1Behold, Yhwh maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries