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 20:19

20:19 If you besiege a city for a long time while attempting to capture it, ⁴  you must not chop down its trees, ⁵  for you may eat fruit ⁶  from them and should not cut them down. A tree in the field is not human that you should besiege it! ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 22:14

22:14 accusing her of impropriety ⁸  and defaming her reputation ⁹  by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations ¹⁰  with her I discovered she was not a virgin!”

Deuteronomy 25:5

Respect for the Sanctity of Others

25:5 If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, ¹¹  and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. ¹² 

[4:26]  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.

[4:26]  ² tn Or “be destroyed”; KJV “utterly perish”; NLT “will quickly disappear”; CEV “you won’t have long to live.”

[4:26]  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.

[20:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “to fight against it to capture it.”

[20:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “you must not destroy its trees by chopping them with an iron” (i.e., an ax).

[20:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “you may eat from them.” The direct object is not expressed; the word “fruit” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[20:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “to go before you in siege.”

[22:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “deeds of things”; NRSV “makes up charges against her”; NIV “slanders her.”

[22:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “brings against her a bad name”; NIV “gives her a bad name.”

[22:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “drew near to her.” This is another Hebrew euphemism for having sexual relations.

[25:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “take her as wife”; NRSV “taking her in marriage.”

[25:5]  ¹¹ sn This is the so-called “levirate” custom (from the Latin term levir, “brother-in-law”), an ancient provision whereby a man who died without male descendants to carry on his name could have a son by proxy, that is, through a surviving brother who would marry his widow and whose first son would then be attributed to the brother who had died. This is the only reference to this practice in an OT legal text but it is illustrated in the story of Judah and his sons (Gen 38) and possibly in the account of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:8; 3:12; 4:6).