Ulangan 4:25-26

Threat and Blessing following Covenant Disobedience

4:25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, ¹  if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind ²  and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, ³  4:26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you ⁴  today that you will surely and swiftly be removed ⁵  from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be ⁶  annihilated.

Ulangan 6:10

Exhortation to Worship the Lord Exclusively

6:10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you – a land with large, fine cities you did not build,

Ulangan 8:15

8:15 and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents ⁷  and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow ⁸  from a flint rock and

Ulangan 12:12

12:12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages ⁹  (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). ¹⁰ 

Ulangan 13:4-5

13:4 You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. 13:5 As for that prophet or dreamer, ¹¹  he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within. ¹² 

Ulangan 16:11

16:11 You shall rejoice before him ¹³  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ¹⁴  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Ulangan 17:12

17:12 The person who pays no attention ¹⁵  to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel.

Ulangan 21:16

21:16 In the day he divides his inheritance ¹⁶  he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other ¹⁷  wife’s son who is actually the firstborn.

[4:25]  ¹ tn Heb “have grown old in the land,” i.e., been there for a long time.

[4:25]  ² tn Heb “a form of anything.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV “an idol.”

[4:25]  ³ tn The infinitive construct is understood here as indicating the result, not the intention, of their actions.

[4:26]  ⁴ sn I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you. This stock formula introduces what is known form-critically as a רִיב (riv) or controversy pattern. It is commonly used in the ancient Near Eastern world in legal contexts and in the OT as a forensic or judicial device to draw attention to Israel’s violation of the Lord’s covenant with them (see Deut 30:19; Isa 1:2; 3:13; Jer 2:9). Since court proceedings required the testimony of witnesses, the Lord here summons heaven and earth (that is, all creation) to testify to his faithfulness, Israel’s disobedience, and the threat of judgment.

[4:26]  ⁵ tn Or “be destroyed”; KJV “utterly perish”; NLT “will quickly disappear”; CEV “you won’t have long to live.”

[4:26]  ⁶ tn Or “be completely” (so NCV, TEV). It is not certain here if the infinitive absolute indicates the certainty of the following action (cf. NIV) or its degree.

[8:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).

[8:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.

[12:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”

[12:12]  ¹⁰ sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.

[13:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.

[13:5]  ¹² tn Heb “your midst” (so NAB, NRSV). The severity of the judgment here (i.e., capital punishment) is because of the severity of the sin, namely, high treason against the Great King. Idolatry is a violation of the first two commandments (Deut 5:6-10) as well as the spirit and intent of the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).

[16:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).

[21:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”

[21:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the hated.”