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.
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today: if you disobey, you will quickly be completely destroyed and removed from the land you're about to cross the Jordan River to take as your own. You won't live there long, but will be completely wiped out.
Moses is warning the Israelites that if they disobey God's laws, they will lose the Promised Land and be destroyed, with heaven and earth as witnesses to this solemn warning.
📚 Historical Context
Moses spoke these words to the Israelites as they camped on the east side of the Jordan River, just before entering the Promised Land after 40 years in the wilderness. This was part of his final address, reminding them of God's covenant and the consequences of breaking it. The practice of calling heaven and earth as witnesses was a common ancient Near Eastern way of making the most solemn possible declaration.
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