Deuteronomy 4:26

4:26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you ¹  today that you will surely and swiftly be removed ²  from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be ³  annihilated.

Deuteronomy 11:17

11:17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt ⁴  against you and he will close up the sky ⁵  so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed ⁶  from the good land that the Lord ⁷  is about to give you.

Deuteronomy 25:19

25:19 So when the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies who surround you in the land he ⁸  is giving you as an inheritance, ⁹  you must wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven ¹⁰  – do not forget! ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 26:15

26:15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors – a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Deuteronomy 28:12

28:12 The Lord will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do; ¹²  you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any.

Deuteronomy 29:20

29:20 The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger ¹³  will rage ¹⁴  against that man; all the curses ¹⁵  written in this scroll will fall upon him ¹⁶  and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory. ¹⁷ 

Deuteronomy 30:19

30:19 Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!

¹ 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.

² tn Or “be destroyed”; KJV “utterly perish”; NLT “will quickly disappear”; CEV “you won’t have long to live.”

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “will become hot”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “will be kindled”; NAB “will flare up”; NIV, NLT “will burn.”

⁵ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁶ tn Or “be destroyed”; NAB, NIV “will soon perish.”

⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 11:4.

⁷ tn Heb “ the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁸ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”

⁹ tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

¹⁰ sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.

¹⁰ tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”

¹³ tn Heb “the wrath of the Lord and his zeal.” The expression is a hendiadys, a figure in which the second noun becomes adjectival to the first.

¹⁴ tn Heb “smoke,” or “smolder.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “the entire oath.”

¹⁶ tn Or “will lie in wait against him.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “blot out his name from under the sky.”