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 8:19-20

8:19 Now if you forget the Lord your God at all ⁴  and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated. 8:20 Just like the nations the Lord is about to destroy from your sight, so he will do to you ⁵  because you would not obey him. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 30:18

30:18 I declare to you this very day that you will certainly ⁷  perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. ⁸ 

Joshua 23:13-16

23:13 know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you; ⁹  they will be a whip that tears ¹⁰  your sides and thorns that blind ¹¹  your eyes until you disappear ¹²  from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

23:14 “Look, today I am about to die. ¹³  You know with all your heart and being ¹⁴  that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized – not one promise is unfulfilled! ¹⁵  23:15 But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, ¹⁶  it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment ¹⁷  until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. 23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, ¹⁸  and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, ¹⁹  the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear ²⁰  quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

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 “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).

⁷ tn Heb “so you will perish.”

⁸ tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”

¹¹ tn Heb “to go there to possess it.”

¹³ tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “in.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.”

¹⁶ tn Or “perish.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”

¹⁷ tn Or “soul.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “and it will be as every good word which the Lord your God spoke to you has come to pass.”

²⁰ tn Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.”

²² tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”

²³ tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

²⁴ tn Or “perish.”