Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to testify against them. New Living Translation “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. English Standard Version Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. Berean Standard Bible Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. King James Bible Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. New King James Version Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. New American Standard Bible Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against them. NASB 1995 “Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. NASB 1977 “Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. Legacy Standard Bible Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. Amplified Bible Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. Christian Standard Bible Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. Holman Christian Standard Bible Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. American Standard Version Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. Contemporary English Version So call together the leaders and officials of the tribes of Israel. I will bring this book and read every word of it to you, and I will call the sky and the earth as witnesses that all of you know what you are supposed to do. English Revised Version Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. GOD'S WORD® Translation Assemble all the leaders of your tribes and your officers in front of me. As they listen, I will speak these words and call on heaven and earth to testify against them. Good News Translation Assemble all your tribal leaders and officials before me, so that I can tell them these things; I will call heaven and earth to be my witnesses against them. International Standard Version Gather together the leaders of your tribes and your foremen so I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and the earth as witnesses against them, Majority Standard Bible Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. NET Bible Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. New Heart English Bible Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your elders and your judges and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. Webster's Bible Translation Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. World English Bible Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionAssemble to me all the elderly of your tribes, and your authorities, and I speak these words in their ears, and cause the heavens and the earth to testify against them, Young's Literal Translation 'Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your authorities, and I speak in their ears these words, and cause to testify against them the heavens and the earth, Smith's Literal Translation Gather to me all the old men of your tribes and your scribes, and I will speak in their ears these words, and I will take the heavens and the earth to witness against them. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleGather unto me all the ancients of your tribes, and your doctors, and I will speak these words in their hearing, and will call heaven and earth to witness against them. Catholic Public Domain Version Gather to me all those greater by birth throughout your tribes, as well as your teachers, and I will speak these words in their hearing, and I will call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. New American Bible Assemble all your tribal elders and your officials before me, that I may speak these words for them to hear and so may call heaven and earth to witness against them. New Revised Standard Version Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may recite these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleGather to me all the elders of your tribes and your scribes, that I may speak these words to you, and call heaven and earth to witness against you. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated All of you gather to me the Heads of your tribes and your Scribes and I shall speak these words to you and I shall call Heaven and Earth to witness against you. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. Brenton Septuagint Translation Gather together to me the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and your judges, and your officers, that I may speak in their ears all these words; and I call both heaven and earth to witness against them. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Law Placed in the Ark…27For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are already rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after my death! 28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”… Cross References Joshua 24:22-27 Then Joshua told them, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “We are witnesses!” they said. / “Now, therefore,” he said, “get rid of the foreign gods among you and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” / So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.” ... 2 Kings 17:13-15 Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.” / But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God. / They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate. Nehemiah 9:26-30 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies. / So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies. / But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion. ... Psalm 78:5-8 For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, / that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children / that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments. ... Isaiah 1:2-4 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. / The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” / Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. Jeremiah 11:7-8 For from the time I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, I strongly warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’ / Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.” Ezekiel 20:18-21 In the wilderness I said to their children: ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. / I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. / Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’ ... Hosea 4:1-2 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. Amos 3:1-2 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: / “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Acts 7:51-53 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. / Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers— / you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.” Romans 10:19-21 I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says: “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.” / And Isaiah boldly says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.” / But as for Israel he says: “All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea. / They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. / They all ate the same spiritual food ... Hebrews 3:7-11 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, / do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, / where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works. ... Hebrews 10:28-29 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. / How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace? James 1:22-25 Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. / For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, / and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ... Treasury of Scripture Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. Gather unto me Deuteronomy 31:12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: Deuteronomy 29:10 Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Genesis 49:1,2 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days… call heaven Deuteronomy 4:26 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. Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Jump to Previous Assemble Authorities Authority Cause Ears Earth Elders Hearing Heaven Heavens Officers Officials Overseers Record Speak Testify Together Tribes Witness WordsJump to Next Assemble Authorities Authority Cause Ears Earth Elders Hearing Heaven Heavens Officers Officials Overseers Record Speak Testify Together Tribes Witness WordsDeuteronomy 31 1. Moses encourages the people7. He encourages Joshua 9. He delivers the law unto the priests to be read in the seventh year 14. God gives a charge to Joshua 19. and a song to testify against the people 24. Moses delivers the book of the law to the Levites to keep 28. He makes a protestation Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers This phrase indicates a formal gathering of Israel's leadership, emphasizing the importance of the message to be delivered. The elders and officers were responsible for guiding and maintaining order within the tribes, reflecting a structured society. This assembly mirrors other significant convocations in Israel's history, such as the gathering at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:7) and the later assembly under Joshua (Joshua 24:1). The inclusion of both elders and officers underscores the need for both spiritual and civil leadership to be aligned with God's covenant. so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites who is delivering his final instructions before his death. He is the one calling the assembly. 2. Elders of the Tribes These are the leaders of the various tribes of Israel, representing the people and responsible for guiding them according to God's laws. 3. Officials These are the appointed leaders who assist in the governance and administration of the Israelite community. 4. Heaven and Earth Symbolic witnesses called by Moses to testify against Israel if they fail to keep God's covenant. This reflects the seriousness of the covenant and the universal scope of God's law. 5. Assembly The gathering of the leaders and officials, which signifies the importance of communal responsibility and accountability in upholding God's commandments. Teaching Points The Importance of Leadership AccountabilityLeaders are called to a higher standard of accountability. Just as Moses gathered the elders and officials, today's leaders in the church must be diligent in upholding God's Word and guiding their communities faithfully. The Role of Witnesses in Covenant Faithfulness The calling of heaven and earth as witnesses underscores the seriousness of our commitments to God. Believers today should live with an awareness that their actions are observed by God and have eternal significance. Community Responsibility in Faithfulness The assembly of leaders highlights the communal aspect of faith. Each member of the body of Christ has a role in supporting and encouraging one another to remain faithful to God's commands. The Perpetual Relevance of God's Word Moses' words were meant to endure beyond his lifetime, reminding us that God's Word is timeless and applicable to every generation. Believers should continually seek to understand and apply Scripture in their lives. The Consequences of Disobedience The warning of witnesses against Israel serves as a reminder of the consequences of turning away from God. Christians are called to remain steadfast in their faith to avoid spiritual decline.Verse 28. - Call heaven and earth to record against them (cf. Deuteronomy 32:1). These words; the words of his charge, and especially the song he had composed, and which it would be the business of these officers to teach to the congregation. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Assembleהַקְהִ֧ילוּ (haq·hî·lū) Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural Strong's 6950: To gather as an assembly or congregation before me אֵלַ֛י (’ê·lay) Preposition | first person common singular Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to all כָּל־ (kāl-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every the elders זִקְנֵ֥י (ziq·nê) Adjective - masculine plural construct Strong's 2205: Old of your tribes שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֖ם (šiḇ·ṭê·ḵem) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural Strong's 7626: Rod, staff, club, scepter, tribe and [all] your officers וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶ֑ם (wə·šō·ṭə·rê·ḵem) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural Strong's 7860: A scribe, an official superintendent, magistrate so that I may speak וַאֲדַבְּרָ֣ה (wa·’ă·ḏab·bə·rāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue these הָאֵ֔לֶּה (hā·’êl·leh) Article | Pronoun - common plural Strong's 428: These, those words הַדְּבָרִ֣ים (had·də·ḇā·rîm) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause in their hearing בְאָזְנֵיהֶ֗ם (ḇə·’ā·zə·nê·hem) Preposition-b | Noun - fdc | third person masculine plural Strong's 241: Broadness, the ear and call heaven הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם (haš·šā·ma·yim) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky and earth הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land to witness וְאָעִ֣ידָה (wə·’ā·‘î·ḏāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular Strong's 5749: To duplicate, repeat, to protest, testify, to encompass, restore against them. בָּ֔ם (bām) Preposition | third person masculine plural Strong's Hebrew Links Deuteronomy 31:28 NIVDeuteronomy 31:28 NLT Deuteronomy 31:28 ESV Deuteronomy 31:28 NASB Deuteronomy 31:28 KJV Deuteronomy 31:28 BibleApps.com Deuteronomy 31:28 Biblia Paralela Deuteronomy 31:28 Chinese Bible Deuteronomy 31:28 French Bible Deuteronomy 31:28 Catholic Bible OT Law: Deuteronomy 31:28 Assemble to me all the elders (Deut. 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