Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 4:25-26 
Context4:25 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.
1 tn Heb “have grown old in the land,” i.e., been there for a long time.
2 tn Heb “a form of anything.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV “an idol.”
3 tn The infinitive construct is understood here as indicating the result, not the intention, of their actions.
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
5 tn Or “be destroyed”; KJV “utterly perish”; NLT “will quickly disappear”; CEV “you won’t have long to live.”
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.
